Unforeseen Consequences
by JunebugPancakes
Summary: There are some mysteries that the journal just can't solve, but Dipper won't let that stop him from learning all the secrets of the universe. Time to make a deal with the dream devil.
1. For What A Soul's Worth

Dipper Pines had a brilliant idea.

This idea was going to get him all the answers he could have wanted and then some. It was, albeit, degrading and he was going to later hate himself for this, but it was worth it he decided.

The preteen worked diligently, dragging his nervous yet nimble fingers across the aged floorboards. More than a few times he would have to go back and re-saturate his fingers with the 'paint' so he could continue; the 'paint' was a small bowl of his own blood that he'd drawn from his arm when carving protection runes into his skin. The initial intent was just to use the blood for the portal but the idea of defensive runes came to him after the first cut, and he was going to need all the protection he could get.

Dipper connected the lines at three points, effectively painting a triangle in the floor. He then grabbed the black and yellow candles set aside with the blood bowl and placed them at each of the vertices, carefully making sure that they were all perfectly centered on the tips. It wasn't yet time to light them-that came last for longevity purposes. Next, he picked up the sketch he'd done earlier that evening, which had really just been him tracing the lines out of his journal (because he wanted to make sure he got everything just right! Any flaws in his plan could lead to unforeseen and undesirable consequences), and placed it in the center of the diagram. Then came the black mirror, the dark glass was the gateway into the realm where the demon dwellt. He placed it in the center next to the sketch, making sure not to scuff the blood drawing as he reached over it. Taking a deep breath he stood back and mused at his handiwork. From what he could tell, it was flawless, but just in case he still had the runes on his arms, which he promptly checked again for accuracy.

This was it, do or die.

Or both.

A grating sound came as Dipper struck a match across its matchbook, and a sizzle sounded as the ember flared up and settled, burning small and bright. He started with the two bottom candles-the yellow ones-that were closest to him. First the one on the left, then the right. Finally, taking a deep breath, he leaned forward on his knees and brought the flame to the wick of the black candle peaking the image. As it caught, he muttered to himself a small protective incantation just to be safe. The boy scooted back and looked down into his journal. He had written this summoning setup into the book on his own, as it was a more generic, flexible summon that would likely work for various types of demons. But Dipper wanted one demon in particular.

"Triangulum, entangulum," he spoke very clearly, keeping his voice strong and unwavering. "Veneforis dominus ventium. Veneforis venetisarium." His eyes began to glow and radiate cerulean flame-like waves. He doubled over, grasping his stomach tight. His entire body shook from end to end. After a brief moment, he unclenched and bent backwards, involuntarily chanting incomprehensible gibberish in a stream of hypnotic muttering.

A sourceless thunder crashed and the world around Dipper promptly drained of colour, the greyscale racing along the walls until the entire room had faded into a sea of grey tones. A slow, maniacal laughter that made Dipper's skin crawl reverberated through the room. The boy stared intently ahead into the black rift that had appeared, suspended in midair. Then, everything fell silent.

"Aw, Pine Tree, did ya miss me?" a, rather obnoxious, voice sounded from nowhere in particular. Dipper made no response. The rift suddenly fabricated a bow tie and a top hat. Arms and legs popped out on either side of it while a white bubble appeared in the blank area just above where lines formed in a brick-like pattern. A sliver of black rolled in from the top of the white bubble and stared down at the preteen boy on his knees. "Of course you did, why else would you've called me here?" The yellow, triangular demon floated down to meet Dipper's height. "To make a deal? Not you, right?! Ha ha, you'd never be so dumb as to make a deal with 'Bill Cipher'!" He made air quotes with his fingers when he spoke his name. After another moment of Dipper's silence, Bill leaned back and crossed his arms behind himself, then crossed his legs. "Pine Tree, I'm insulted," he said. Dipper knit his brows and cocked his head slightly. "This summoning alter is so basic. You could call something as weak as an imp with this. You couldn't even trouble yourself to find my summoning alter in that lame journal of yours?" Dipper took a deep breath and spoke.

"It wasn't in here."

"Well, you at least could have lo-"

"Listen, Bill, I called you here for a very important reason, not to make idle chit-chat." Bill crossed his arms and stared at the kid with a mild irritation at being interrupted. Dipper got to his feet. He stood up straight and tall, cheeks blossoming with a pinkish blush, and cleared his throat. "Bill Cipher," he began.

"Y'ello," Bill responded cynically.

"I want you to..." Dipper choked on his words and cleared his throat again. His stomach was twisting into what felt like a million knots.

"Get on with it, kid, I don't have all millennium."

"I want you to-I-I think we should," he sputtered, tripping over his words. This was harder than he thought it was going to be. No matter how many times he had rehearsed this scene in his head before starting, he still managed to make a fool of himself. There was no way he could look at Bill while he said this. "I summoned you so we could...do _it_."

Bill blinked and dropped his arms.

This kid.

Dipper slowly turned to look back at the dream demon levitating in front of him. Bill was just staring at him completely silent. His gentle bobbing was the only movement he made; he didn't even blink. Dipper swallowed hard, but whatever was stuck in his throat would not go down. He swallowed again, broadening his shoulders and trying to look as brave and confident as possible. Bill said nothing.

"D-Did you hear m-"

"You want me to fuck you."

Dipper swallowed yet again and after a second, nodded. Bill furrowed his brow at him and held his arms out wide.

"Seriously, kid? Jeez, I know meatbags your age get curious, but this is a new low even for you, Pine Tree." Dipper fixed a glare on him, his face was beet red and his ears felt like they were on fire. He shuffled a bit at his feet and rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. Bill crossed his arms again and brought himself to eye-level with Dipper. "What's in it for me, huh? Why should I help you get off when you humans seem perfectly capable of doing it yourselves?" Dipper sucked in a breath and steadied his voice, facing Bill entirely again and staring him dead in the eye.

"I offer my soul as sacrifice."

Wow, Bill looked more surprised than Dipper could have ever explained to anyone. His eye was as wide as a saucer and his pupil had narrowed down so thin that Dipper could barely see it. It was like a needle less than the girth of a poppy seed. He wasn't even looking at Dipper, he was looking _through_ him.

Silence stilled over the room, and Dipper wasn't sure but the room maybe even felt somewhat colder.

"Kid, do you realize what you're sayin'?"

"Yes."

"You'll be stuck with me for eternity, you know that, right?"

"Yes."

"You won't be getting it back, Pine Tree. You're overpaying."

"Yes, Bill, I know. I'm not stupid. Now, do you want it or not?" Bill relaxed back down to his normal state and shrugged. If that was the way he wanted it...

"Alright, kid, if you insist." Bill set his hand ablaze with blue flames and extended it out to Dipper. The preteen boy felt a chill run down his spine. Remembering what this was all for, he shook it off and accepted the deal.

Immediately, Bill burst into a villainous laughter. It echoed through the room and quaked through Dipper's body. The demon bent back and clawed his hands. Light energy shone bright from him until it was a blinding white that engulfed the entire room from corner to corner. Dipper couldn't see anything, but he forced his eyes to stay open anyway. Momentarily, black tendrils shot out of the brilliance and snapped a hold on Dipper's arms. Another set of them coiled around the preteen's legs. A third set constricted against his neck until he could barely breathe.

"Bill," he choked out desperately.

"Quiet, Pine Tree, you wanted this." Bill came into view. He was not yellow anymore, he was a solid shade of obsidian black, his eye a narrow red dagger in a sea of chaos. A pair of hands reached out where his bow tie normally was and for just a moment, Dipper would have sworn he could see a vicious set of shark-like teeth ripping through his form.

The hands came to press against Dipper's chest. They rested there for no longer than two seconds before phasing through his flesh and delving deep into his being. Dipper grimaced, he could feel them moving around inside him, searching. They grazed his lungs which where strangled for air, his heart which was pounding almost out of his chest, and finally came to a halt when they touched something that made Dipper's entire body jolt with a surge of liquid agony. He bit down on his lip in attempt to direct the pain somewhere else, but this was nothing like a physical pain. It was otherworldly in a way, something that hurt on an inexplicable level. Bill released a pleased hiss and took hold of the thing. He began retracting it from the boy's chest and the excruciating burning sensation that overtook Dipper could be described as nothing less than hellish. Dipper could not stifle his pained scream, it could have woken the dead. It probably did. Bill's wicked chuckle signified his satisfaction with the find. Finally, when the item was successfully pulled out of the kid's body, he grinned at it and hastened it into its new prison where it would remain for the rest of forever, just like Pine Tree agreed.

Suddenly, the pain stopped all at once. In fact, his body felt hollow and light, like he was nothing but a shell. Bewildered, Dipper unscrewed his eyes and his scream slowly died out. He blinked hard at the sight in front of him. Bill held up a glass jar, capped with a soft leather cloth and tied with a silvery string which was long enough to be worn as a necklace. A blue-white mist swirled and bobbed within-his soul. He gulped.

How many people could say that they've seen their soul right before their eyes? How many people even believed souls were an actual part of a living body? This whole thing was surreal, but there it was.

The tendrils loosened around him until eventually they vanished, piece by piece, into thin air. Bill's image faded into nothingness and eventually, the endless white dissolved back into Dipper and Mabel's bedroom where he had drawn the summoning alter.

When Dipper's feet were finally on the ground again, he collapsed to the floor.


	2. Beginner's Latin

All was silent and still. Fields of darkness stretched out in an endless expanse; existence was an illusion, time was indefinite.

...

A shrill cry of horrible agony tore through the dead air, followed by a deafening static crack and waves upon waves of pure torture.

Dipper's eyes popped open. The first thing he noticed was that everything was grey. No surprise. Above him, a colourless Bill hovered with indifference plastered obviously across his face; he blinked once. Wait a second...colourless Bill? Even in the dreamscape, Bill usually retained his bright yellow pallor. The pair stared silently at each other as seconds ticked by, and nothing could have felt any more awkward than this.

Finally, when he could bear it no longer, Dipper made a move to sit up.

"Augh, what happe-" his sentence was cut short by another charge of electrifying pain that caused his body to convulse and writhe against the hard wooden floor. It was as if a torrent of hellfire blazed through his veins from the inside-out, wracking him limb from limb.

When it was finally over after those few ungodly seconds, the boy panted furiously and clutched a hand over his heart-halfway out of reflex, and halfway to make sure it was still beating.

"What the heck was that?!" he snapped, glaring up at Bill.

"Oh good, you're awake. I just thought a couple thousand volts of pure electricity might help you come to, no need to thank me."

"I was awake before you nearly killed me, thanks," he groaned as he sat up. "It's not like you were staring right at me or anything."

"Pfft, semantics," Bill shrugged. He rolled his eye. Dipper shook his head and ran a hand through his now-frizzy hair, rubbing it back down to how it should have been.

"How long was I out?" he asked.

"Hm, 'bout a year."

"What?! Oh my god, no way. What am I gonna do? A year, seriously?"

"Shooting Star found herself a boyfriend, Stan Pines is dead, Red moved to Portland, and Gideon declared himself the new dictator of Gravity Falls; things are pretty great!"

"Ugh, cut the act, Bill, I know it's not true."

"You're right, Shooting Star actually keeping a boyfriend is hilarious!" Dipper rubbed his eyes at this and grimaced (but he did have a point).

"Alright, Bill, time to pay up. You have my soul," which, now that he mentioned it, Dipper noticed that the jar containing his soul was draped around Bill's being and dangling just below his bow tie, "now it's your turn to...pay me back."

"To fuck you, you mean!" the other responded in his usual cheery tone, which made it only a hundred times more uncomfortable. Dipper actually cringed at the remark as he stood up and dusted himself off. He stumbled a bit, unused to his body feeling so empty and light. His legs felt like wet noodles under a weightless torso.

"Whatever. Let's just get on with it."

"Let's get it on, you mea-"

"Just come on!" Dipper growled, balling his fists and marching angrily past Bill towards his bed.

"Yeesh, kid, at least let me work you over first!" Bill laughed, following behind him. Dipper decided not to dignify that with a response. Stupid triangle.

A tiny part of himself deep down wished he could take it back, play it off as a joke, but it was way too late to turn back now. Still, he knew he had to do this even if he could go back, it just sickened him is all. Hopefully, this would be over quick.

When he reached the bedside, he spun around to face Bill and glared harshly at him through hollow eyes, wide and devoid of life. He crossed his arms at his chest and huffed.

"Yikes, what's with the attitude, Pine Tree? Isn't this what you wanted?" Bill squinted.

Dipper didn't respond, he just heaved out a sigh and relaxed his shoulders. Sitting back on the edge of the bed, the preteen began to disrobe-shrugging off his vest first, then removing his hat. His shirt came next, and promptly after he kicked off his shoes and was tugging at his socks when Bill approached him.

"Seems to me like you think this is a chore, are you having second thoughts about our little deal?" he pondered, twirling his finger in the silvery string of the ornament.

"No, I'm not. I...I want this," Dipper struggled to say. The words tasted awful in his mouth, like sour dirt and gym socks. He took a deep breath and pulled on the waistband of his shorts. He shakily pulled them down and strained, "I'm just nervous. It's my first time."

The moment those words left his mouth, he instantly regretted them. Bill broke out into a humiliating laughter so thunderous, the room shook.

"Pine Tree, you just get more and more pathetic, don't you?"

"Give me a break, I'm twelve!"

"Ha, no, it's not that. It's just funny that you're going through all this to get laid by a demon. You're really somethin', aren't you?" Dipper chewed on his tongue until he thought he might bite clear through it. He wanted to make a remark, to give the jerk what-for, but there wasn't anything he could say without saying too much. Instead he just rolled his lifeless eyes and shook his shorts off from around his ankles. "Also, 'I heart BABBA' boxers, kid? Really?" Dipper slapped a hand over his forehead. Why didn't he remember to change before getting into this? "What, do they say 'Disco Girl' on the back, too?"

Yes.

"Can we please just stay focused?" Dipper groaned, cheeks dusting over with blush. He sat back into the mattress and fixed his attention on Bill. The demon hovered just in front of him with an amused crinkle to his eye. "And stop staring at me like that!"

"What? But you said to stay focused and that's what I'm doing," Bill chuckled, placing a palm against Dipper's clothed crotch. Dipper jumped slightly and grit his teeth. That felt wrong on so many levels. "Or did you mean for me to focus on other areas of you instead?" A chill ran over him as Bill's warm hand began to move in slow motions, causing him to let out a stifled breath. His body began to feel numb and slightly tingly as the blood rushed towards his abdomen. "Do you like that, Pine Tree?" He was not going to answer that question, but his body wasted no time in an eager response. Under Bill's hand he was growing, and it was giving him an uncomfortable nausea to even think about it.

Bill removed his hand to hook his thumbs under the other's boxers and edge them down his waist until his semi was free. An unpleasant shiver passed over the preteen's body. He stared down at himself with shame, pondering his own body's reactions to Bill's touch.

"C-Can you do more?" he asked somewhat breathily. It was shameful, but necessary.

"You humans are so needy," Bill said with snark, rolling his eye. He took hold of Dipper's half-hard on and gave it a experimental squeeze...maybe a little harder than he should have.

"Ow!" Dipper jumped, clenching the muscles in his stomach at the pain. "Not like that!"

"Well, _pardon me_ , Pine Tree, but I don't go around giving handjobs to preteen boys recreationally, if you can believe that." Ugh, it was like every word that came out of him was making Dipper's stomach twist that much more. Did he really have to be so point blank?

"I've never done this before either, alright, so don't act like you're the victim."

"Ha ha! No, you're definitely the victim. All your life!" Bill doubled back in laughter, releasing Dipper's cock. Dipper clapped a hand over his face and shook his head, groaning. What was even the point? Maybe he was wrong and this wasn't worth the humiliation. But then, Bill stopped and straightened up with yet another look that spelled trouble. "Say, Pines, how'd you like to learn a bit of Latin?"

"I-what?"

"Yeah! It'll be great," Bill chuckled, grabbing Dipper's length again. "Every time you say a word correctly, I'll reward you." He gave the other an enticing stroke to offer an example.

"What? Wait a minute, you're supposed to be doing this in return for my soul; I shouldn't have to work for it!"

"Oh, c'mon, just think of it like a little extra. You're learning Latin and still getting what you want. Frankly, you should be thanking me for being this generous."

"You know what, I'm not even surprised right now. I literally should have seen this coming." Bill gave a small snicker and stroked him once more at that last part. "Alright, I'll play along. Whatever gets this moving faster."

"You make it too easy for me to make fun of your words, kid, it's losing its charm." Dipper rolled his eyes. Maybe if he got bored, he'd shut up.

Out of thin air, Bill fabricated a booklet and moved it towards Dipper. The preteen grabbed it from the air, propped himself up on his elbows, and flipped through the pages to see every page was filled from top to bottom entirely in Latin. It didn't much look like a vocabulary book or even an information guide of sorts. In fact, it read like sort of like a story. He flipped back to page one and took a breath.

The first sentence must have flowed perfectly because Bill gave him a few successive strokes. A few of his leg muscles tensed at the feeling, but he continued without much hesitation. The next sentence was difficult to pronounce and it resulted in Bill giving Dipper another unpleasant squeeze.

"Ow!"

"Try again, Dipstick."

"This is stupid!" Dipper said shaking his head.

"Hey, if you wanna go back on our deal..." Dipper frowned.

"No," he grunted. Bill gestured for him to continue.

Growling under his breath, Dipper repeated the sentence a few times, getting both strokes and squeezes from Bill, until he was getting nothing but smooth motions against his cock. A short gasp pushed through his teeth and he kept going.

Word by word, he read on, turning pages until his mouth got dry. Taking a brief moment to wet his lips, Dipper glanced up from the book to see Bill with his eye shut, radiating a light aura different from how he would have said was the norm. He couldn't quite tell for sure because everything-even Bill-was hued in various shades of grey, but he would say Bill was a bit darker, maybe perhaps what would have been a redish colour? Or perhaps pinkish? And said light wave was glowing in pulses. Dipper cocked his head a bit and squinted at the sight, then looked down to his cock to see Bill still stroking it absentmindedly, but still he was still only half hard. This was a disaster, there was no way he was going to get far enough if this kept on like it was.

"Don't stop, Pine Tree," Bill rasped, opening his eye half-mast. Gears in Dipper's head turned and rutted against each other until finally it clicked. Oh god.

The booklet went flying across the room as Dipper flung it as far away from him as he could. That was utterly disgusting! Goosebumps rose on his flesh, blood running cold. Oh god, oh god, oh god.

"No! No way. No, no, no, no, no, no, and no. I am _not_ doing that," he floundered, scrambling to cover himself up. A hand caught his wrist. Bill looked angry, if the glint in his eye was any indication.

"Here's the thing about that: you leave me halfway and I'll leave you halfway and keep your soul." The book levitated via magical influence back over to Dipper where it floated patiently beside his head. Something told Dipper that he was going to leave this situation halfway no matter what he did, but something else told him that Bill was going to be a lot more unhappy than that if he left Bill halfway; and while he wasn't very phased by that threat, Bill taking his soul and just leaving would be crushing the rest of his plan and that was unacceptable. So reluctantly, Dipper snatched the book out of the air, keeping a glare on Bill all the while, and sighed, continuing from where he'd left off.

Pages later, Bill was audibly moaning at each risqué syllable trickling from the boy's lips. And after lots of rewarded jerks to his stubborn and shy cock, Dipper was finally hard. He'd even grown used to the, now disturbingly satisfying, pain of Bill's squeezes; which, if he was honest, is probably what was finally enough to get him up. He hid behind the booklet, gripping the paper so hard it crumpled beneath his anxious hands. His face burning, he realized he was very, very wrong before-things definitely got incredibly more awkward.

Whatever he said next was enough to make Bill give a long, drawn out moan and tighten his grip on Dipper's cock. The preteen arched his back and bucked into the clutch as a short, breathy gasp was pulled from between his teeth. He instantly clapped a hand over his mouth with wide, mortified eyes. Did that sound just come from himself?

"Kid, I gotta admit...you have a way with words," Bill breathed, staring down at the motions he continued to make around Dipper. "Your tongue is very talented." A rush of heat, manifested in a violent shiver, raced to Dipper's groin. His cock twitched in Bill's hand, causing the other to give an satisfied glance at him. The aroused sigh that left him was just plain sinful. "So listen, I hate to say it, but...I can't say I know much about human reproduction. It's gross." Dipper pursed his lips. Seemed to him like Bill was rather enjoying himself. "Human sex ends with male ejaculation, right?" Wow, that made him cringe. His entire body tensed up and shuddered.

"I-yeah. Usually, I think," he replied, "That's what Mabel said Grunkle Stan told her." Bill didn't respond to him, lost in his own (probably demented) world. A few silent moments pass before he spoke up again.

"Keep reading," he said. Dipper studied his face before nodding and looking back down at the pages.

He'd picked up a pattern with the way letters were pronounced, so most words came across far more smoothly than they were when they started. He was also fairly sure he knew which words did the most to Bill, so he made sure to say those with a little extra gusto when they came about. When he did, Bill usually involuntarily gripped harder, which is exactly why Dipper did it. Still, the words 'this is so wrong' repeated in Dipper's head like a broken record, the further he went.

Finally, Bill stopped him. Dipper looked up from the pages, half-confused, half-dazed. Every bit of his face was flushed over, the rise and fall of his chest erratic.

"Ahh, that's the stuff," Bill exhaled. Dipper averted his eyes. "Now, this is important, so listen up: I need you to say my name and then 'expletio', you dig?"

"Why?" the preteen questioned, flipping pages in the booklet. "It doesn't say anyt-"

"Just-just do it, kid!" Bill insisted.

Against his better judgment, Dipper obliged.

"Bill Cipher..." he began hesitantly. Bill looked up at him through his lashes, eye filled to brim with lust. _"expletio!_ "

Light grey flames exploded from Bill's body, encompassing both himself and Dipper below. Surprisingly, they didn't burn at all, just like when he shook on deals. His grip on Dipper's cock was released as he was cast into the throes of his orgasm, shaking and emitting a brilliant light that nearly blinded Dipper. The preteen below shielded his eyes with his forearm. Something similar to a shrill pterodactyl screech flooded the room, causing a ringing in his ears.

And then it got quiet.

The sound of a thud hitting the floor made Dipper uncover his eyes. Bill had fallen back and landed flat on the floor, arms and legs spread like a starfish. He seemed spent. Dipper raised an eyebrow at him.

"Whew, that was fun," he said in a steady voice. "Tell ya what, kid, I got some place I need to be here in a sec'. I'll catch a raincheck on that male ejaculation of yours." Ugh. "So pretty much, you'll be getting double what you asked for, plus that whole Latin thing," he chuckled at that, "sound fair to you?" Dipper opened his mouth to protest the idea of having to do this all over again-and the fact that Bill _still_ left him halfway after he kept going-but before he could get any words out, Bill cut in. "Great! Well, it's been a real riot. Smell ya later, Pine Tree."

And with that, he vanished in a fireball of malevolence, leaving Dipper alone in his shared bedroom.

It was silent.

And everything was grey.


	3. A Cup of Gravi-tea

Maybe a shower would clear his rampant thoughts, Dipper thought as he closed the bathroom door behind himself. He leaned against the aged wood and breathed a stressed sigh, peeling off his pyjamas after a few silent moments. His dream the night before had been anything but pleasant. After his whole exchange with Bill, he didn't exactly expect to have sweet dreams anyway, but that didn't make him feel any better about it.

Each article of clothing he stripped off his slightly sweaty body dropped carelessly to the floor as he traversed the room to the tub. He ran a hand through his damp hair as he stepped in and drew the curtain shut. The warm water on his skin allowed his muscles to relax. He took a cleansing breath. With the sound of the strong water current filling the room, Dipper couldn't help himself from breaking into song.

"Disco girl, coming through! That girl is you! "

Twenty song-filled minutes later, the preteen stepped out of the shower feeling refreshed with a smile on his face. Before he could even reach for a towel, a light grey figure sprang from the mirror leaving behind a ripple effect of dimensional dark matter. Dipper's heart skipped a beat and he nearly jumped out of his skin. He stumbled back with a shriek, tripping over the edge of the bathtub and landing flat on his butt inside. Bill burst out into laughter.

"Boy, you have the grace of a drunken ox with two left feet!" he mocked, pointing and laughing. Dipper grumbled and pulled himself back to his feet. "So what's up, Pine Tree?" He hesitated a moment, eye flicking down between the other's legs and then back up to his face. "Clearly not you."

Face flushing red as a cherry, Dipper gasped and scrambled to cover up. He yanked a towel down from the rack and hastily wrapped it around his waist.

"Seriously? What are you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd drop in on my little pet," said Bill, examining his figurative nails.

"Pet?" Dipper protested, "No way, do _not_ go around calling me that!"

"Would you prefer slave?"

"No!"

"How 'bout underling? Minion?"

"None of the above! What's with these degrading names, anyway?"

"Degrading? Wow, rude. You're the minion of an all-knowing, all-powerful dream demon, and you think being my pet is degrading? Jeez, kid, where did you learn your manners?-or lack thereof, for that matter."

"Ugh, whatever. Did you have to schedule your visit for just as soon as I got out of the shower?"

"Accidents happen, yanno." Dipper rolled his eyes.

"So did you come to finish paying me back finally?" he asked.

"Yeesh, is your mind in the gutter twenty-four-seven?"

"Bill," Dipper lashed, extending his arms emphatically, "why are you here?"

"I suppose I was curious about why you were so desperate last night that you were willing to exchange your soul for a good time," Bill drawled in response. "If it were any other adolescent fleshbag I wouldn't be surprised, but you...what's your motive, kid?"

All of Dipper's muscles tensed back up, jaw slacking agape. He went wide-eyed and blushed again.

"O-oh," he stammered. What was he supposed to say? For some stupid reason, he hadn't expected Bill to see through his façade and was ill prepared for confrontation. He squeezed his eyes shut, balling his fists at his side. A frog leapt into his throat and without even thinking about it, blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Well, y-you see the truth is that I sorta" he bit his lip, "have a crush on you." All his blood ran cold.

Wow. Nice one, Dipper thought, mentally slapping himself.

Bill burst out into a roaring laughter. In-fucking-credible! He didn't think he could laugh any harder. He clutched his body tight, kicking his feet wildly. A tear even ran from the corner of his eye. As much as Dipper wanted to look angry-repulsed, even-he kept a calm outward appearance, putting on a nervous grin and twiddling his thumbs.

"Yeah, heh heh," he muttered, wringing his hands. He brought a hand up to rub the back of his neck, glancing around the bathroom in search for his next words.

"You're a new kind of pathetic, Pine Tree!" Dipper bit back a growl and transformed it into a soft whimper, displaying a look of defeat. Bill wiped the tear from his face and spoke through his chuckles, "Thanks for the laugh, kid, but I've gotta be going. I'll be back later, so try not to be shower fresh next time." And with that, he was gone back through the portal from whence he came. Dipper gave a few last shaky laughs before dropping his shoulders and groaning.

"I hate my life."

"Not your life anymore!" Bill said, popping back in and vanishing just as suddenly as he'd appeared. Dipper balled his fists and threw a hairbrush at the mirror.

"And I hate you!"

...

Breakfast that morning with Mabel was incredibly more awkward than Dipper was expecting. Silence hovered in the air between them, creating a tension too strong to ignore. He couldn't look his sister in the eye, but she was staring at him like a hawk.

"Why aren't you eating your Stancakes?" she asked, gesturing to Dipper's untouched breakfast. He didn't respond, keeping his eyes averted and tapping his fork absentmindedly against the plate. He stared out the window into the forest, chin in hand. "Dipper, is everything okay?" For a split second, he glanced at her. Mabel's face was a blend of concern and confusion, and seeing her dismay made Dipper feel a little guilty. He didn't get the chance to respond to her because in the next moment the television on the counter chimed with breaking news.

"Gravity monster ravaging Gravity Falls!" the reporter announced. The twins turned both their attentions to the screen to see an invisible force pulling the trees and bushes sideways. Shingles stripped off the tops of houses and leaves and branches were torn from their trunks. The camera shifted then to the beast. It was an angular demon who hovered above the ground on one narrow spike that increased in girth upwards to become its body. Thin, needle-like arms dangled on either side of the creature as a set of translucent crystals orbited its body. It raised its lithe arms and let out a warped, high-pitched screech; trees were ripped from the ground, cars lifted from the streets, and rooftops severed from their bases. "Police are attempting to get the monster under control," said the reporter as the TV depicted sheriff Blubs and deputy Durland nervously pitching a lasso at the large creature. It wrapped around one of the revolving crystals and the sheer unyielding force of its obit jerked the officers off the ground and began spinning them around wildly like fan blades, their screams echoing through the streets. The camera shifted back to the reporter. "Officials tell us all to keep calm and not pani-woaaahh!" Their sentence was cut off as the reporter was swept off their feet and dragged into the beast's gravitational pull. Seconds after, the display started tumbling and then cut to static, promptly followed by a TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES screen image.

The twins looked at each other. Mabel's jaw was dropped open.

"Dipper, we gotta go stop that thing!" she said, raising her voice and pointing to the television. Dipper brought a hand up to his neck and rubbed it nervously.

"I don't know, Mabel, I'm not quite feeling like myself. I'm not sure if I can do it," he replied with hesitance.

"What? But you always know what to do! If we don't help, the town will be destroyed," Mabel reasoned. Dipper rubbed his arm, eyes flicking around the kitchen in thought. With Bill liable to turn up at any given moment, it was going to make monster fighting a lot more risky; but on the other hand, this is almost exactly the type of situation he had in mind when he decided to make the deal. Still, he couldn't shake the bad feeling he had about this one.

"Well..." he pondered, scratching his head, "I guess we should at least try."

"Yay!" Mabel cheered, raising her arms and kicking out her feet. She reached across the table to scruff up Dipper's hair affectionately. "I'll go get my grappling hook!" she said, hopping down from her chair and speeding off upstairs. Dipper watched her with a weak smile. After she was out of sight, he sighed and went to go find his journal.

...

Sirens blared and reverberated through the streets, echoing through the alleyways and reflecting off houses. Streets were blocked off by debris and by police cars.

The twins arrived at the scene, weapons in hand and dressed for success. They glanced at each other through shaded eyes and nodded, sly smirks adorning their faces. Mabel's hair was pulled back in a ponytail, tied with a yellow scrunchie and accented with a star-shaped hairpin. Her lovely sweater-of-the-day was a lavender knit depicting Issac Newton and captioned 'I could sure go for a cup of gravi-tea'. She wielded her grappling hook with pride, standing tall and proud with her hand on her hip.

Dipper didn't go quite as overboard, opting for his usual attire (though the sunglasses were pretty cool, he had to admit). His journal tucked under his arm, he too stood tall and proud.

Two sets of steel-toed boots clunked in sync against the asphalt as the pair strutted their way through crowds. They approached (a very bruised and scratched up) sheriff Blubs. He was standing with fists balled at his hips, glaring at the gravity demon from afar. One of the lenses of his sunglasses had popped out and the other one was majorly cracked. Dipper straightened his back and poked out his chest; he tapped on the officer's shoulder. Blubs turned to face him. Mabel crossed her arms and squared her shoulders.

"Pardon me, officer," said Dipper, "we're here to help take care of the gravity monster situation." He and Mabel fist bumped. Blubs gave them elevator eyes, looking them over and raising an eyebrow.

"Aren't you both a little too young to be fighting dangerous monsters?" he questioned.

"Yes we are," Mabel stated proudly, earning an elbow in the side from her brother. "Ow!" she recoiled. Dipper hissed her name under his breath and Mabel shrugged apologetically.

"Look, we're totally qualified to do this," Dipper explained. "We've fought plenty of other things like this and come out alive. This is no problem."

"Well," Blubs pondered, rubbing his chin, "if that's the case then I don't see why n-"

Just then, deputy Durland rocketed by and crashed face-first into a pile of trashcans, making a loud clatter that caught all of their attentions. He pulled himself out of the accident and stumbled over to the others, seeing stars.

"Hey y'all, what's goin' on over here? Did ya see the way I gave that no-good baddie what-for?" he boasted.

"You were great," Blubs praised, putting a hand on Durland's shoulder. "After this, we should treat ourselves to a nice hot latte."

"Uh, excuse me?" Dipper interjected, extending his arms in confusion.

"What're a couple of kids doin' in town when there's a monster on the loose?" asked Durland.

"They say they're qualified to take the beast down."

"Oh no, no kids gonna get themselves hurt on my watch! You all go home and play dollies. Where're your parents?" Durland ordered, extending an accusatory finger at the twins.

"What?" Dipper protested, "But you _just_ said-"

"You heard the man," Blubs affirmed, crossing his arms. "You all go home now."

"Come on!" Mabel spoke up. "We just wanna help!"

"No, no, and no! Now, get!" Durland commanded, waving his arms at them.

"But-"

"Don't make me have to use my nightstick!"

The twins sighed and turned away, dropping their shoulders in defeat. Man, it sucked being twelve. This was totally unjust. But wait-Mabel stopped walking and grabbed Dipper's sleeve. He glanced back at her curiously. All hope was not lost.

"There's gotta be a way we can get to that thing without going through them," she said. "Let's look around." Dipper nodded in agreement. Scanning the scene for any entry way possible, the twins searched for anywhere that was not blocked off by either debris or barricades. Eventually, Mabel tugged on Dipper's vest and pointed to an alleyway at their right where an uprooted tree had fallen, slumped against the buildings on either side, leaving a passage just big enough for a couple of mischievous kids to fit through.

Dipper winked at his sister and took her hand, waiting until Blubs and Durland had occupied themselves with another flawed attempt at harnessing the monster. He followed her lead through the narrow ingress. They stooped down, ducking their heads beneath the trunk, and squeezed through. Dipper managed to wedge himself in the hole, needing help to get free. Mabel took his hands and tugged her brother free. Landing askew on the ground, they scrambled to their feet and pressed forward.

The digital-sounding screech of the monster nearly deafened them both as they approached it. Both siblings clapped their hands over their ears and grit their teeth. It was a grating sound that rattled their bones and even shook the ground beneath them. They peeked out from around the corner of a building just before where the monster's path of destruction began. Their hair rose to their cheeks, gravitating towards the monster's pull. Mabel frustratedly tried pushing it back behind her head while Dipper frantically scoured the pages in his journal for an entry on the demon.

"Alright, this thing is called a 'Tangle' and it says that when it gets mad, it increases its gravitational pull. 'Make sure to wear steel-toed boots'," he read. He and Mabel clicked their boots together.

"Check!" Mabel smiled.

"'and wear earplugs to avoid going deaf'." Mabel pulled two sets of earplugs from her pockets and handed a pair to her brother. They put them in and gave each other a thumbs up. They could still hear each other if they needed to, but they would have to shout at pretty much the top of their lungs, so they would mostly be using body language to communicate. Alright, it was time to move. Dipper nodded to Mabel and earned a nod in response. The pair sped off, following in the wake of destruction.

As they were running, old 'bad news' himself decided to make yet another appearance. Of course.

"Hey kid!" Bill greeted in his usual chipper tone. Startled into existence, Dipper tripped over his own feet and face-planted into the mud. Bill broke out into laughter. "Nice grace, _Tripper!_ " he howled in stitches. Dipper grumbled and dug his nails into the dirt, trying to redirect the anger. He took a deep breath and got to his feet again just as Mabel turned to see if he was alright.

"Whoa, Dipper! You okay, bro-bro?" she asked. Dipper panicked, side-stepping to try and hide Bill's form.

"Uh, yeah! Sorry, I just tripped over a rock, no big deal!" he lied, giving her a thumbs up. "Come on, let's keep going," he said, running past her. She followed suit.

Bill tailed behind Dipper until he caught up to his side.

"You know she can't see me, right?" he told him plainly.

"What? How are you even talking to me right now? I have earplugs in!"

"Mindscape, kid," Bill stated, moving to face Dipper. He reclined back and crossed his legs, still keeping pace with the pair. "Great place. You should visit again, sometime."

"As if. Ugh, Bill, can't you come bother me some other time? I'm trying to save the town here."

"Oh, I'm not gonna interfere. You do your little 'save the day' thing. I'm just here to watch," Bill said, fabricating a tub of popcorn and tossing a handful of kernels towards his face. They phased into his body and disappeared. Did he just absorb them? Creepy. Dipper rolled his eyes and did his best to ignore it.

They were gaining on the demon when it screeched again, shaking the earth below. Both twins had to stop in order to keep their balance, holding their arms out to steady themselves. When they stabilized, they shook their heads and made sure each other was okay before continuing.

Finally, they came to a stop a few yards before the demon. It had its back to them and was uprooting more trees when Mabel called out.

"Hey, you big dumb meanie, stop destroying the town!" The beast turned to acknowledge her shout. Surprisingly, it did not retaliate. It simply stood there and stared down at the twins, waiting for their next move. "Oh," she said, confused, "thanks."

It was all too soon, as in the next moment the tangle screeched again-this time knocking them both off their feet and back onto their butts-and tore all the surrounding trees from the ground threateningly. It launched one at them both. Scared gasps left the twins and each of them rolled in opposite directions to avoid being crushed. The impact of the tree smashing into the ground gave them both a shock of terror, but they were not discouraged. They got to their feet and joined up again at the tree's roots, a little closer to the monster.

Dipper flipped open his journal and combed through the text to find a way to defeat it. All the while, the tangle was uprooting houses and amassing cars to fling at them. Mabel looked over Dipper's shoulder to see what he was reading.

"'Important note: the crystals circling the tangle's body are a critical point in fighting the demon. Four green crystals and a red crystal can be seen orbiting the creature. It is crucial! that the opponent-'" Dipper's reading was cut off by the wrath of the tangle growing so violent that the journal was ripped out Dipper's hands. "No!" he cried, reaching out in a fruitless attempt to grab it.

Bill burst out in laughter.

"Take that, Pines! That's what you get for costing me my deal with Gideon!" he belted out, shaking a fist at the twins. Dipper felt a rage boil inside him that was inexplicably intense. He balled his fists and grit his teeth together hard enough to hurt.

"Dipper, aim for the red one!" Mabel shouted, shaking her brother by the shoulders. Dipper snapped out of his enraged trance and reached down to grab a rock. His eyes flicked between the crystals. He hesitated on pitching the stone, trying to decide which one of the translucent light grey crystals was the red one.

"Where's the red one? I-I can't tell!" he responded.

"What? Dipper, it's right there!" Mabel said, pointing ahead of her. Yeah. That helped. Sucking in a breath and hoping for the best, Dipper wound back his arm and let the rock fly.

Wow.

"Now that was just pathetic, Pine Tree," he heard Bill say from behind. He opened his eyes to see that the stone had barely flown three feet. Dipper's face flushed beet red. Mabel groaned and pushed her brother to the side, snatching the rock and pitching it at the beast herself.

Bullseye! Mabel landed a direct hit on the red crystal causing the tangle to freeze, all of its possessions dropping to the ground.

"Yes!" she cheered. Dipper pushed past her and darted towards the direction where his journal had landed. He made it about halfway before the demon let out a bone chilling screech that brought Dipper to his knees. "Dipper!" Concerned for her brother, Mabel ran after him. It was then that the beast began emanating a shadowy aura and all that had dropped was gravitated back into the air. This time, however, the twins had gotten too close in proximity and not even the weight of their boots could prevent them from being lifted up off the ground.

"Whoaa!" they synchronized, flailing their limbs wildly. Dipper continued trying to reach for the journal but it was out of his reach. Now the beast was pulling its collections in towards its body. Dipper screamed and thrashed about, doing his very best to avoid being sucked in. Suddenly, Mabel wrapped her arm around Dipper's chest and held on to him with all her strength.

"Grappling hook!" she beamed cheerfully.

"Wha-ah!" Dipper's breath was partially knocked from his chest at the sudden halt. Mabel had shot her grappling hook behind them and locked it around a pipe that was sticking out of the ground from where one of the houses was stripped away. Thank god for Mabel, Dipper sighed with relief.

"Looks like Shooting Star's got a much better handle on the situation than you, Pine Tree," Bill snickered. "Seems to me you're pretty much useless without that journal, huh?"

Ouch.

Dipper's mouth came agape and he stared forward in shock, eyes going unfocused. Images flashed through his mind at all the times he's saved Mabel and kept them both safe. All the danger he had gotten her into, and still managed to get her out of alive all because of the journal. Were they going to die now? Was this the end? His eyes welled with tears and spilled over.

"Dipper?" Mabel said, looking over her brother's shoulder to see if he was alright. "Dipper! Dipper, what's wrong?" He didn't respond; he didn't hear her. "Dipper, snap out of it!"

"What's wrong, Pine Tree?" Bill asked with a sing-song voice. "Feeling defeated?" he mocked, fading into view in front of Dipper's face. "Feeling...weak?" He twirled his cane between his fingers, a crinkle of satisfaction in his eye. A screen opened up where his bow tie was; it depicted a headstone that read R.I.P. MABEL PINES.

Dipper furrowed his brow and frowned.

"No," he growled.

"Huh?" Bill dropped his arms and lost the amused expression.

"Ominis exiliaris!" Dipper shouted. Bill went still, eye opening wide enough to see traces of blood veins. "Ominis exiliaris!" he repeated, eyes illuminating a searing white. Mabel's jaw dropped open, staring up at her brother with awe.

"Pine Tree, don't," Bill said very quietly, voice barely a whisper. It sounded like he was pleading. Dipper lowered his head and smirked.

" _Ominis exiliaris!_ " he shouted at the very top of his lungs.

The twins watched as the tangle erupted into charcoal black flames with the vigor and brilliance of a supernova. Bill instantly did the same, engulfed by what Mabel saw as cerulean flames and what Dipper saw as grey flames.

A swirling black and red void opened up in the skies resonating a low humming sound as Bill and the tangle were both stretched and sucked into the black hole, emitting shrill screeches of pain and terror. When every particle of their beings was consumed, the void closed up and vanished, causing all the gravity to return to normal.

The twins screamed as they came crashing to the ground below, landing hard in the mud. Dipper rubbed his head, groaning as he turned over onto his back, staring up at the once again clear sky. He checked his hand for blood and sure enough it was there; he must have landed on a rock.

"Mabel, are you alright?" he grunted. He waited a few seconds for her to answer, but got no response. "Mabel?" he said again, glancing over to his side where she landed. Still no response. Ice shot through his veins, stomach dropping to his feet. "Mabel!" he panicked, scrambling over to his sister and turning her over on her back. He shook her shoulders and shouted her name again, but he received nothing but silence. Her face was scratched up and bloodied where she had landed on a thorn branch from one of the bushes the tangle had thrown haphazardly about. Dipper frantically glanced around to see that police cars and paramedics were coming to surround the two of them, and he saw that Grunkle Stan's car was there too.

His eyes flicked back down to his limp sister draped motionlessly in his arms. He embraced her as tightly as he could, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Mabel wake up," he uttered softly. "Please be okay."

He jumped slightly, feeling a hand on his shoulder. Grunkle Stan was standing over him, concern written all over his face. He leaned down to wrap his arms around the twins, comforting Dipper who was hysterical with worry and cradling Mabel's inert frame.

Sirens blared and reverberated through the streets, keeping everyone on their toes as they rushed to save a little girl's life.


	4. Hey, Soul Sister

Purgatory was a boring place.

The long, sorrowful moan of a wandering soul chilled the empty air.

Not to mention it was damn annoying.

Bill sighed, perching atop a dreary building. He needed a moment to think. Running his fingers across the cracks in the weathered cement, he stared blankly at the moss and ivy growing down its greying structure. A hollow wind whispered amongst the shattered windows, breezing past Bill. He put a gentle grip on his hat so that it wouldn't blow away.

Exile.

Pine Tree exiled him. Sure he didn't intend to direct it at him, but still that was just plain uncalled for and downright sloppy. Bill furrowed his brow and balled a fist. After all, he was just teasing him a little. No harm done! Pine Tree was not weak, he knew that. Not mentally, anyway. His physical strength, however...

Bill couldn't help but chuckle. He kicked his feet lightheartedly.

Still, something about the exile made him feel strange in a way he didn't comprehend. He wanted it to stop. The way Pine Tree looked when he'd chanted the command, he couldn't get it out of his mind. A stray finger tapped against the jar containing Dipper's soul that was draped around his shoulders. He gazed up at the taupe sky, filled with tortured and lost souls looking for expiation. Somewhere out there was the dumb tangle that caused all of this. Nuts to him, but at least the nuisance was gone. There was no chance of him getting out without a bounding element (at least not for a very long time) like a foolish human's pathetic soul.

The way Pine Tree's lips curled into a smirk with the third chant of the command had Bill captivated. The look of determination and power in his eyes was as enthralling as the incantation itself. It was...annoying. Bill grunted and swiped a stone from the rooftop, pitching it as far as he could into the endless void of lost hope. Goddamn Pine Tree and his sudden revelations. He was actually kind of impressive. In a disgusting and irritating sort of way.

And what Pine Tree had said earlier that day, that had become significantly less hilarious by now, Bill realized. He replayed the scene over and over again in his memory.

He was stuttering, struggling to find the proper words that he wanted to express. Biting his lip and shifting his weight around were clear signs of discomfort and nervousness.

 _"Well, y-you see the truth is that I sorta have a crush on you."_

Stupid. Not funny, stupid. It made him feel a sort of sickness in the pit of his core to think of it. A pressurized tingling that made his limbs feel lax and tense at the same time, which was absolutely illogical and completely unsolicited. He wanted to block it out and focus on other business, but no matter how hard he tried, Pine Tree would not leave his mind. His body began to redden, trembling with anger. He clenched a fist on the roof edge so tight it sent small cracks running down the building a short distance.

He needed to go for a walk. Metaphorically, of course. With a frustrated groan, he reeled back his hand and dusted the cement particles off. Picking himself up from the roof's edge and launching into the air again, he moved in no particular direction as he wandered through the endless abyss.

The air was filled with the souls of the damned-stranded between what the humans called 'heaven' and 'hell'-and various other airborne demons who'd been condemned to this forsaken realm as a permanent banishment. Permanent. Pine Tree knowing such a spell by heart was not only surprising and mildly terrifying, it didn't make sense. Sure, it was just a bit of Latin, but where most people fall short is realizing the effect it has on a vast majority of demons, himself included. And due to the fact that most simpletons don't even believe the supernatural, it was not common knowledge to know exactly how to banish a demon. He would have had to been researching it or otherwise expecting the need to use it. While research wasn't above Pines, it was still heavily on the unlikely side.

Bill let out a sigh and allowed his anger to dissipate. He looked around, taking in the sights. The last time he was in purgatory was before Gideon had summoned him back. He hadn't had a link to the overworld and without that, there's little to no hope to return for any demon trapped in this realm. This time he was blessed with a much more fortunate occurrence, which drastically reduced his resentment.

He slowed a bit to examine the ornament around his shoulders, tilting the container to see the misty blue and white inside. It was calm and rested, which was typically unusual for a soul in purgatory, but because it was shielded by the jar around it, it remained at ease. Bill looked up from it and glanced around at all the other souls floating around aimlessly through the void. He vaguely recognized some of them as people he'd encountered in the past-some of which dating back a few millennia. Most of them had a greyish center, others had black centers, and there were those, rather few in numbers in comparison, with white centers. The surrounding hue was a defining colour from somewhere in the spectrum that, when combined with the middle colour and the sound it made, identified the soul to the person it belonged to.

Distracted by all the passing wisps, he was caught off guard by a sudden tapping noise. He looked back down to see a white and lavender spirit knocking against the glass jar persistently. It caused the one trapped inside to stir, emitting a warmth and a low glow. It began swirling around its confinement, seemingly trying to get to the other soul.

This soul belonged to Shooting Star.

"Shooting Star, what are you doing here? Or better yet, how are you here?" Bill questioned. The spirit responded with a high pitched ringing noise, similar to the way a silver bell sounded. "Hm," he pondered, looking back to Pine Tree's soul. "You would be drawn to Pine Tree, wouldn't you? Wonder what caused you to end up here." The wisp circled him twice before tapping on the glass again and making another pitched cry. It was pining to merge with the soul inside, as twins do when they reach ascension. That is, unless one soul were to be condemned to hell without the other. (If one soul were meant to go to hell and the other to heaven, both souls would remain in purgatory even after merging. Unable to separate, and unable to decide where the singularity belonged, they would be left to wonder for the rest of eternity. The only rare exception to this rule would be if a double resurrection was preformed successfully and both souls were given the chance to change their ways before death again).

Bill stared at the lavender spirit, the gears in his head turning in thought. Shooting Star was probably missing this thing. She hadn't traded it away, or else it would be in captive just as Pine Tree's was. And where Shooting Star was, Pine Tree was likely to be within a hundred yards proximity at least. He squinted hard at the soul.

And he was really dying to know how Pine Tree learned that command. Maybe he could annihilate the pest too, while he was at it, for consuming his thoughts like this.

He took hold of the wisp and examined it, then a devious expression lit up his face.

"Come on, Shooting Star, hows about we get you back into your body?" he chimed cheerfully. Clutching the jar in his other hand, he gave it a pulse of energy and was warped to the soul's source.

...

Hospital seats were cold and uncomfortable. Dipper shifted his weight in the wooden chair across from Mabel's bed. Holding his legs up to his chest, he rested his chin on his knees and breathed out a sigh. Staring at his sister's unconscious body was not exactly the way he had planned to spend his weekend, nor was it exactly exciting. Anxiety swirled in the pit of his gut, making him feel nauseous and lightheaded. This was all his fault for losing his grip on the journal and not knowing how exactly to take out the demon. He slammed a fist down on the table beside him, gritting his teeth and glaring down at the marble tile. He should have read the entry before they even left! The one time he didn't plan in advance and it nearly cost his sister her life.

The doctor said the impact had knocked her unconscious and in the time it took them to get the her to the hospital (stupid police officers too busy yelling at them for sneaking past and taking on the beast against their permission), she'd slipped under and into a coma. Her chances of a quick recovery looked good, the doctor said, but that didn't make Dipper feel any better when he still had to gaze upon his sister's bandaged head and scratched up face. Utterly powerless to do anything, he was reduced to sit back and wait for her to come to on her own.

Grunkle Stan put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up from his seat and rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry," he said, realizing his small outburst was seemingly unprovoked. "I just wish she'd wake up so I can apologize for being so reckless."

"Look, kid, you did the best you could do. Sure you should have thought it through a little more..."

Dipper blinked expectantly. When Stan didn't continue after a moment, he spoke up.

"Yeah?"

"What?"

So much for making him feel any better. Dipper rolled his eyes and shook his head, shifting his attention back to Mabel.

He felt so bad about this.

But at the same time, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly happened to Bill. He'd looked surprised and almost scared even as the Latin words leapt from his mouth. A twinge of shame twisted in his gut recalling the incident. No part of him had voluntarily spoken the chant that day. It was practically instinctual, like an ingrained automatic response to his twin being in danger. Perhaps it was generational.

"You keep an eye on your sister, okay?" Stan said, breaking the awkward silence that had settled in the room after the previous conversation, "I'm gonna go yell at the receptionist until I don't have to pay the hospital bill." He got up and moved toward the door. "If the doctor asks where I'm at, I was never here."

"Got it," Dipper muttered with disinterest. The door clicked shut and Dipper rested his cheek against the palm of his hand, staring into space with eyes half-mast. The only sounds in the room were the beeping of the heart monitor and Mabel's gentle breathing. Light streamed in from the window, beaming onto her face. The glare from the sun on the glass was reflecting into Dipper's eyes; he kept trying to shield them but his arms would get tired and eventually he just decided to move seats.

They'd been there for hours already and he was starting to get a bit tired, yawning every few minutes and almost drifting off. He stretched out his arms and rubbed his eyes until he saw stars. As the staticy haze disappeared, he blinked a few times.

And then almost experienced a cardiac arrest.

He shrieked when he opened his eyes and saw Bill hovering in front of him with a piercing gaze locked onto him as though he'd been there for the entire time. His first instinct was to throw a fist at the other. It fell against Bill's body and Dipper quickly retracted his hand and shook out the pain that had shot though it.

"Ow! Gosh, your body is like an actual brick wall!"

"Thanks, kid, I try. Now tell me how you know the banishing spell or I'll turn your hands into tarantulas."

"But tarantulas aren't deadly to humans, I would have thought that you-"

"You've got ten seconds," Bill ordered, extending a finger and emitting some sort of magical spark that Dipper knew was a threat.

"I-I don't know! It just sorta happened, I guess."

"Strike one. Seven seconds."

"Bill, I'm serious, I honestly couldn't even tell you what it was that I said-in Latin or in English!"

"Strike two, kid. Four seconds. You better spill it."

"There's nothing to spill!" Dipper retorted, throwing his hands up in emphasis. Bill didn't seem at all moved, continuing to glare at him and finally igniting his hand with silver tongues of flame. "You know what, whatever; turn my hands into tarantulas. Or replace my guts with venomous snakes or whatever it is your sick mind tells you to do, it's not like I care anymore."

"Pine Tree," Bill said, unmoving.

"What?" Dipper shouted, raising his voice. "I don't know what you expect me to say! I already told you, I have no idea how I knew any banishing spell or whatever it was I did. It just happened." He crossed his arms and cast his eyes at the painted white brick walls. Bill stared him down for a full minute, silence chilling the air between them, before finally Bill extinguished his hand and relaxed backwards a little. He dropped his arms and rolled his eye.

"Alright. So you don't know how it happened; you spoke from your subconscious. I'll buy it for now," he resigned. Dipper knit his brow harder and tightened his crossed arms to his chest. "I'm actually kind of impressed, you know." Dipper glanced up from his peripherals and raised an eyebrow. "That kind of thing isn't exactly common knowledge, and you seem to have a knack for surprising me in the most unexpected ways. In other words, that was actually pretty great, kid, but don't ever do it again or I'll make sure you never have another dream that's not a nightmare again. And in addition, I throw in a permanent spot in lowest level of hell where you'll spend eternity suffering in the most cruel and unusual ways."

Dipper was unimpressed at Bill's attempt to threaten him, but was still gaping at the fact Bill had went from seemingly wanting to destroy him for chanting an exile command, to complimenting him for it. His jaw was practically on the floor, head cocked, and eye twitching.

"Huh?" he quirked. Bill rolled his eye again and put each balled fist on his sides.

"What you did was impressive, but do it again and I'll-"

No, no, I heard what you said. I just can't believe you actually said something nice to me. A-are you trying to get me to lower my guard? 'Cause it's not gonna work!" Dipper exclaimed, tensing his shoulders and clenching his fists at the other.

"What? No! Ugh, listen Pines, I don't have the time or energy to lie to you right now. I have somewhere else I need to be here soon, but I've been thinking about it and I'm gonna let you off the hook just this once. In fact..." He tapped a finger against his face, turning to glance at Mabel.

"Don't you touch her!" Dipper yelled, jumping to his feet and chasing after Bill as he hovered over to her bedside. "If you're gonna take it out on anyone, take it out on me, not her!" Bill quickly spun around to face Dipper, who was quaking with a mixture of fear and anger.

"Relax, kid, you look dumb like that," Bill told him, snickering a bit. Dipper's cheeks reddened slightly. He bit his bottom lip, but didn't retaliate. "I'm helping!" he beamed.

"Not likely, triangle."

"Hey, watch your mouth," Bill snapped, shooting a glare at him before returning his attention to the unconscious body below. He materialized a jar identical to the one in which he was carrying Dipper's soul. Dipper couldn't tell the difference between them, even the contents looked identical. He was curious to ask, but remained silent under the uncertainty that if Bill actually was well-intentioned, he might ruin his chances.

His eyes were trained on Bill, watching carefully as he retrieved the wisp from its container and tossed the jar into oblivion. He extended his arm down without moving and phased it through Mabel's chest, rummaging around a bit until he found the right place. His eye widened, and then quickly shifted to a satisfied crinkle as he snapped his arm back into place (something similar to a tape measure, Dipper thought). Bill stared down at Dipper with the same jolly expression and Dipper quirked his head curiously, squinting suspiciously at him, before shifting his attention to his sister. A still moment was all but too long, hopes flickering weakly in Dipper's chest. Another still moment passed, and then another and another.

Dipper's smile faded, his eyes filling with sadness as Mabel still showed no signs of consciousness. His shoulders drooped, attention falling to the floor.

Rubbing a hand against his metaphorical chin, Bill stared down at Mabel and suddenly it clicked.

"Whoops! Forgot the most important part!" he said cheerily, snapping his fingers at the realization. Leaning down, he placed both hands on the girl's chest and in an instant, she was home to a few thousand volts of pure electricity. Her body writhed beneath Bill's hands, jerking and thrashing in an involuntary response to the agony it was put through. Dipper was floored. In his mind, he reacted by lunging at Bill and tackling him to the ground, but he failed in the execution, shocked into immobility.

Finally, Bill removed his hands and Mabel's body stilled. The rise and fall of her chest greatly accelerated and limbs twitching with aftershocks. And at last, she stirred.

Her eyes fluttered open, blinking a few times, before looking around the room to assess herself. Vision blurry, she reached an arm up that felt like it weighed a ton to rub her eyes clear again. When she could see, the first thing she noticed was Bill hovering over her, an amused stare written a hundred times across his face. She shrieked weakly and defended herself with her feeble arms.

"Rise and shine, Shooting Star! Someone's here to see you!" Bill chimed, gesturing to Dipper beside him who had the widest grin on his face. "Close your mouth, kid, you'll catch flies," he teased, placing a hand on Dipper's chin and shutting his jaw for him. Dipper reflexively swatted at him.

"Mabel!" he exhaled in desperate optimism. "You're awake!" Mabel rubbed her throbbing head.

"Ugh, what happened? Where am I?"

"Northwest Memorial Hospital. You wouldn't wake up after that fight with the tangle, so we got you here as fast as we could, but Blubs and Durland stopped us to complain about us fighting the monster after they told us not to and then you slipped into a coma and we were super worried about you, but then Bill came along and did god knows what and now you're awake! Oh gosh, wow, are you feeling alright? He gave you a pretty rough start, I know what that feels like, trust me." Mabel stared at him with her brows furrowed in confusion. He was talking way too fast for her to understand in her state. Most of it was hard to take in, but she just nodded and attempted to sit up.

"How long was I out?" she asked.

"Almost a week. The doctors said you would wake up, but I didn't believe them. To me, you didn't look so good. Oh god, you scared me so much," he answered, tearing up slightly at the last bit. She looked up at Bill and squinted.

"Are you sure he helped? I don't trust him." Bill's face dropped. The nerve.

"Who cares? You're awake!" Dipper said in a sharp inhale. He reached out and practically attacked his sister with an embrace. Mabel lit up a smile and hugged him back, rubbing his back reassuringly.

"Can you do me a favour, bro-bro?" she asked him gingerly.

"What's up?"

"I _really_ need some chocolate or something after being out that long. Could you go get me a snack or something?" Dipper smiled and nodded, turning for the door.

"Of course. Be right back, Mabes."

Naturally, Bill followed him out. He hovered along at Dipper's side, staring at him with crossed arms.

"Well?" he said, breaking the silence.

"What?"

"I still haven't heard a 'thank you' for resurrecting your sister."

Dipper suddenly stopped in his path.

Not expecting it, Bill had to move backwards to reunite with him. The pair locked eyes and Dipper actually smiled.

"Thanks, Bill, for saving Mabel." Bill was a bit surprised at how sincere it was, coming from him of all people. He was silent for a moment, arms dangling limp at the statement. Only when Dipper turned and continued walking down the corridor did he snap back into the present.

"It...It was nothing, alright? Don't read into it."

"So how'd you do it anyway? It looked like you were putting a soul back into her."

"You're pretty sharp, huh? Yeah. I met up with her in purgatory-you know, that place you banished me to?" Dipper lowered his head a bit and kept from making eye contact. "Her soul was drawn to yours, as it should be. Y'know, twins and all."

"And you went through all the trouble to bring it back? That's not exactly like y-"

"It was on the way, alright?" Bill huffed defensively, balling his fists and jerking his arms downward.

"Oh," Dipper responded, "Well, thank you anyway for doing that."

Stupid Pine Tree, Bill thought, face radiating a warmer energy than usual.

When the pair reached the snack machine, the area was barren except for Grunkle Stan standing at the reception counter, laying waste to the poor secretary. Dipper rummaged around in his pockets and pulled out about a dollar fifty in quarters. He plugged it into the machine and punched in the code for Mabel's favourite chocolate, 'Hirschy Bar'. While he waited for it to fall, he turned to Bill and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Say, Bill...if, uh, you're not doing anything later..."

"I already told you, I've got somewhere to be soon."

"I mean, after that I guess. If you're not busy, would you wanna maybe...hang out?" he shrugged and grinned nervously, pink blossoming over his cheeks. Bill gawked in disbelief and sheer surprise. What he couldn't exactly decide, though, was whether he was more shocked at Pine Tree for suggesting such a thing or at himself for wanting to say yes. Rendered unresponsive, Dipper elaborated. "I just would kind of like to thank you for saving Mabel."

"You just did," Bill said, confused.

"Well-yeah, I guess I did, but I mean in a different way. Kind of like...I don't know, sorta maybe kinda not really but I guess partially like-"

"Spit it out, kid."

"...a date?" Dipper bit down hard on his bottom lip as nausea bubbled up in his stomach again. He couldn't believe he was saying that. His blush spread further, heating his ears and running across his face like a paintbrush had swiped over it.

No fucking way. Pine Tree did not just ask for that, there was no way. He had to have misheard it. Without saying anything, he fabricated a fruit and held it out in the palm of his hand to the other, his own face starting to change colour.

A date. An actual date. Was this Bill's form of rejection? He panicked a little, so he attempted to clarify.

"No, no, I mean like..." he anxiously ran a hand through his hair and rubbed his arm, "spending time with someone you really sorta like kind of a lot." He flushed even harder, becoming almost entirely cherry red.

Nope, he didn't mishear. The fruit was incinerated instantly with a flash flame, and Bill dropped his arm again.

They stared silently at each other as seconds ticked by. The sound of Stan's yelling had become a numb ringing, the clock's ticking seemed so loud it echoed through their heads. Neither one of them moved an inch. Dipper felt like his chest was about to explode and he realized he was holding his breath, but was too scared to release it. Sweat beaded under his arms and in his palms, his legs were like noodles beneath him.

Finally, Bill spoke.

"We'll see."

And with that he was gone, vanishing into thin air with a small fireball.

Dipper released his breath in a rush and nearly lost his balance. He steadied himself with his arms and shook out the anxiety. Taking a moment to rub the ringing out of his ears, he looked back at Grunkle Stan just to make sure he was really still here and that he wasn't as out of place as he felt.

But then again, to anyone else it would have looked like he was asking the wall on a date. Luckily, no one else was around and Grunkle Stan was too wrapped up in skipping the bill to even notice Dipper had wandered into the room.

He breathed a sigh to relax his nerves, and reached in the vending machine for the chocolate.

Two bars came out.


	5. For Afflictions of the Heart

Dipper wondered if Bill was ever going to show up again. It had been three days since he'd thanked Bill for his help with Mabel and asked him on a date. Mabel was going to be discharged soon and it was starting to get really annoying how Bill was avoiding him.

He clenched his fists at his sides and chewed on his bottom lip. Bill still hadn't fulfilled his end of the deal...not that that was a problem per se, but it was just getting on his nerves that Bill wasn't taking him seriously. It was bothering him more so that Bill was staying gone for long periods of time because at this point he was losing opportunities.

He pushed open the door to Mabel's room without bothering to knock. She looked up from where she was lying upright against her pillow, knitting a new sweater. It was something creative for her to do while she was in the ER that didn't involve turning the room into her personal art studio.

"Hey Mabel," he greeted lowly. Her response was delayed and in the hesitance, Dipper looked up at his sister to catch a massive grin spread across her blushing face. Her eyes seemed to sparkle.

"Hey bro-bro, guess what!" she beamed.

Dipper raised an eyebrow and turned slightly more toward her. "Is...everything alright?"

"Oh, it's better than alright! How do you think this looks?" she turned her magenta creation around to show her brother. The design was a red cross with pink hearts in the four inner corners. The caption read 'Love Doctor'. "Do you think Nurse Cullen will like this?" she asked.

"I...what?" Dipper questioned, face twisting in confusion. He dropped his shoulders and cocked his head.

"He's so cute and I think I totally have a chance with him!"

"No offense Mabel, but don't you think he's a little too old for you?"

"Hush, I'm almost finished with this," she silenced, bringing a finger to her lips. She then continued knitting furiously as if her life depended on it.

Dipper rolled his eyes and sat down in one of the chairs across from her bed. He pulled out his journal from under his arm and began flipping through it. As he scanned the pages, searching through obedience spells, truth spells, compulsion spells, and other manipulation techniques, he tapped a finger against his cheek and rolled his tongue in his mouth.

The air was quiet between them aside from the occasional clicking of Mabel's knitting needles and the soft rustling of pages turning. The golden rays from the evening sunlight streamed in from the window and warmed the room, the low chatter from the hospital television allowing for a bit of atmosphere.

Soon a knock came on the door, followed by the squeak of the hinges turning. In waltzed Mabel's caretaker, Nurse Cullen. A happy gasp rushed from her lips as her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and twinkled. As he approached her bedside, his skin seemed to glitter in the velvet rays.

"Miss Pines, how're you doing this evening?" he asked with a lidded gaze. His voice was low and somewhat breathy. Dipper rolled his eyes; pretty boy.

Mabel hid her work-in-progress sweater behind her back so that her crush wouldn't see it. She smiled even wider, if that was possible.

"Better now that you're here," she flirted. The nurse smiled and shuffled his clipboard around in his arms. He pushed back his overly gelled hair and broadened his shoulders.

"I'm glad to hear it, Miss Pines, because you're being discharged tomorrow. Congratulations on your full recovery!"

And in an instant Mabel's face dropped from overjoyed to heartbroken. Her mouth fell agape, eyes filled to the brim with horror. She scooted forward and sat up on her knees so she could put her hands on his shoulders.

"Tell me it's not true," she begged, pleading with her puppy eyes.

"Nope, you're all stable and there shouldn't be any more problems."

"But-but I made you this sweater!" she protested, pulling out her unfinished project from behind her back and presenting it to him in a desperate attempt to quickly win his favour.

"Oh, that is lovely, Miss Pines! I'll give it to my little sister, I'm sure she'll love it. She wants to be a nurse just like her big brother," he said as he took the unfinished product from her to observe it.

"No! I-I mean, I made it for you," she blushed. His face seemed to drop a little, brows scrunched at her suggestion. He put a hand on her shoulder and breathed out a sigh as he looked into her eyes.

"Listen Miss Pines, you've been hitting on me the entire time you've been here," he began, shrugging his shoulders a bit, "and I just don't really feel the same way. I'm quite a bit older than you, you see. Besides, you're being discharged tomorrow and we'd be apart again."

"We could stay in contact!" Mabel said, clinging onto his coat. He frowned and shook his head.

"I'm sorry Miss Pines."

"Please..." she breathed theatrically, lowering her voice to a whisper, "call me Mabel."

"Uh-huh..." Nurse Cullen muttered, eyes darting awkwardly around the room. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow when it comes time for you to go home." He moved to exit the room. "Have a good evening, Miss Pines."

The light left Mabel's eyes as the door clicked shut. A small whimper saddened the air. Dipper rolled his eyes again and pushed his nose back into the journal. His sister's love affairs were the last thing he wanted to worry about, but in the back of his mind he just knew that somehow Mabel was going to ask for his help.

And strangely enough, that time never came. She just sat there in her bed, staring down listlessly at her unfinished sweater and clenching the blankets in her fists. The room was silent and somewhat tense. Dipper started to low-key hope that maybe she had learned to be less dramatic over her failed romances.

Oh, how he was wrong.

Evening came and in the later hours of the night, Mabel snuck out of bed. She peeped both ways down the hall to make sure no one was around before slipping away toward the staircase. As she was staring down the flight, clenching her fists and biting her lip nervously, a familiar voice came from behind her.

"Hey Shooting Star! Thinking about taking the plunge?" Bill said in a cheery voice, swinging his arms gaudily. Mabel yelped in surprise and nearly ended up tumbling down the stairs. She caught herself on the railing and managed to pull herself back to her feet, her heart pumping at ninety miles-an-hour.

"Bill!" she shrieked, "What are you doing here? Do you know Dipper's been looking everywhere for you? What's going on between you guys?"

"Whoa there, easy with the questions, kid." Bill made a show of being run through with arrows in the shape of question marks, theatrically dying and then quickly reanimating with no arrows in him. "I'm aware Pine Tree's been waiting for me, but I'm a busy guy, y'know. Got places to be and people to torture, you dig?" He spawned his cane and pointed the end of it at her. "I can't spend all my time on him," he shrugged, twirling his cane around his fingers.

"You still haven't said what you're doing here. If you're so busy, how come you can make time for me but not for him?"

"Sheesh, it's not like I've been spending days at a time with him or anything, right? He's had enough of my time. I wanna hang out with you for a change!"

Mabel squinted at this remark, "Why?"

"Is asking questions all you ever do? I don't have to explain myself," Bill grouched, turning his back to her to hide the small blush that came over him. He crossed his arms, cane hovering on its own beside him, and huffed. Mabel also crossed her arms, squinting even harder at him.

"I don't trust you."

"Good," he said, turning back to face her. " You shouldn't. But believe it or not, I'm not here to cheat you." Mabel shook her head slowly in disbelief. "I'm just looking to help. You want that boy, right?" She raised her eyebrows in surprise before casting her eyes away and twiddling her thumbs.

"I'm leaving tomorrow and he still hasn't realized that we're meant to be together."

"Exactly. I can fix that! But you can't get something for nothing, you know. What's in it for me?"

Mabel crossed her arms pompously, "I won't tell Dipper I saw you tonight."

"You drive a hard bargain, kid," Bill hissed, pointing an accusatory finger at her, "but I'm gonna need more than that."

"I'll knit you a sweater, too; final offer."

Bill stared her down for the next ten seconds without a word before Mabel threw her arms up and started to walk away.

"Alright, I guess I'll go tell Dipper you're here to-"

"Wait!" Bill halted, holding out a hand in her direction. Mabel kept marching. "Okay okay, I'll take your dumb sweater, just don't tell Pine Tree anything."

"Yay!" Mabel delighted, running back over to Bill with her arms wide. As she jumped in to hug him, Bill reflexively split in half so she ended up sailing right through him and onto the cold, hard floor face-first.

"If you value life, don't even think about trying that again," he warned, melding back together. Mabel frowned and tidied up her hair as she got back to her feet.

"No wonder you're so evil. You've never been hugged before!" There was a moment of hesitance before Bill spoke again.

"Move back over here," he ordered. Mabel took this as a cue to try hugging him again and opened her arms. She took one step toward him before he ignited his hand and chucked a ball of blue flames at her. Mabel ducked in time to dodge it but the hairs on the back of her neck stood as she stared wide-eyed at him. "To the stairs. And F-Y-I, I don't miss twice." She got the hint. Repositioning herself at the top of the stairs, she looked up at Bill to see him extending his flaming hand to her. They shook, sealing their little deal, and in the next moment, Bill's hands were on her shoulders.

"Have a nice trip!" he said all too enthusiastically. He shoved her backwards, sending her crashing down the staircase. She went screaming with her hands clasped over her head in defense. It didn't help much in the end when she still ended up with a splitting headache and bruises dotted all over her body.

At the bottom, her motionless body lay staring up at the ceiling dizzily. A pair of Bills hovered over to her where she could see them and gazed down at her with an obvious delight. Mabel lifted a finger at the two.

"You never told me you had a twin," she mumbled. Bill chuckled and rolled his eye.

"Seeing double, huh? That should be good enough for the white coats, what do you think?" Mabel squinted at the double vision-induced Bill twins and cocked her head a little bit.

"Wha...?"

Moments later, doctors came stampeding down the hallway. They rushed to Mabel's side, checking her vitals, asking her a slew of questions that she felt way too dizzy to answer, and finally helping her to her feet so they could get her back to her room. Taking a moment to figure out what was going on around her, she took notice that one of the doctors at her side was her caretaker, the one and only, Nurse Cullen. She mentally fist pumped and whispered 'yes!' to herself before turning to look back at Bill. He held his arms behind his head with satisfaction in himself and Mabel mouthed a 'thank you' to him before her squad turned a corner and they were out of sight.

"Well, now that that's out of the way..." Bill dusted metaphorical dirt off himself and straightened his bow tie and hat.

"Bill hecking Cipher!" a pubescent male voice called out.

Ah _hell_.

Bill dropped his shoulders and glared in the direction where Pine Tree was stomping toward him, a trail of rage in his wake. There was practically fire following his footsteps. His fists clenched at his sides, teeth grit, and posture hunched, he stormed up to Bill and pointed an accusatory finger directly in his face.

"Oh my god, I don't even know where to start with you, you filthy freaking cyclops!" the boy snarled, shaking his head.

"Hey," Bill said, crossing his arms, "that was totally uncalled for. Excuse you, but I'm nothing like a cyclops. Have you met those guys? They have absolutely no sense of civility." Bill put a hand over his imaginary heart and closed his eye. "I prefer to be called a mono-optic being of pure energy."

"The only thing I'm calling you right now is a liar and a scoundrel," Dipper hissed. "You got my hopes up about that date and it's been three darn days. Where were you?"

"I said 'we'll see', kid. I never said yes. Don't take it personally," he defended, examining his nonexistent nails, "I'm a busy guy; I had places to be. I can't babysit you all the time, Pine Tree."

"Babysit? This is unbelievable!" Dipper fumed. He ran both hands through his hair, clutching it tightly in anger, and then threw his hat to the floor. "Bill Cipher, you have a deal to fulfill. It's not about hanging out or dating, if I really have to spell it out for you. I commissioned you a deal-you get my soul, and I get to...get off. And you haven't finished your end of the deal. You do know what happens to demons that don't uphold their end of the deal, don't you?"

Bill recoiled in shock. Who was Pine Tree to tell _him_ about what happens to demons who break their deals? The very gall was offensive to say the least. All he could do was just stare the other down for a few moments while he decided what was appropriately evil enough of a response. Nothing came to mind.

Dipper continued speaking since Bill had been rendered speechless.

"And you know what else?" he said, "I just _watched_ you push Mabel down the stairs. What the heck, man?! That's my sister!"

"Now wait just a second, that one wasn't my fault. She was asking for it!"

"Bill, I swear to god..."

"No, I'm being serious. She was literally asking for it. Shooting Star seems to think that if she stays here longer, she can convince ol' white coat to fall in love with her." Bill chuckled, "but she's gonna need more than that if she wants his attention, let's be real here."

"Look, it doesn't matter _why_ you pushed her. You know Mabel doesn't put her own safety before her feelings! You could have killed her!"

"Alright, casanova, what do you suggest to help Shooting Star win the boy's heart?" he asked, juggling fabricated human hearts in his hands. Dipper reached out and fanned them away, to Bill's disappointment. Bill put his hands on his hips.

"I-I don't know. Isn't there some kind of, uh, love spell or potion or something? Anything has to be tamer than pushing her down a flight of stairs."

"Hm, come to think of it, Pine Tree, you're right. There are a few things you could try, but personally I think this was much easier and way more fun," Bill laughed.

"Ugh, well whatever," Dipper groaned, pulling out his journal. He flipped through the pages, trying to find anything that seemed to have an effect on influencing emotions with no such luck. Bill hovered just over his shoulder, staring down into the book with him.

"Looks like you're outta luck, kid. Nothin' much in there except for a whole lot of hooey."

"There's gotta be something in here, right? You said there were a few things to try."

"I figured you already knew! Don't tell me you haven't tried this out already on Red." Dipper's face flushed beet red and he clapped the journal shut as hard as he could. Spinning around to face Bill, he tucked the book into his vest and crossed his arms.

"There's...nothing in there about love potions or whatever."

Stroking his metaphorical chin, Bill hummed and then reached down to Dipper's vest, only to have his hand slapped away by the other. Bill looked hurt. Dipper gave him a look that said 'try that again and next time I'll take off your hand'.

"Trust me, kid. I just wanna help."

"Why on Earth should I trust you? You've given me no reason-"

"Look, I know you don't have a lot of reasons to trust me, but I'm not trying to dupe you right now."

"Forget it." Bill rolled his eye.

"Well, if you don't want my help, then I guess I'll take my leave."

"Wait, I never said that. I want your help, but you aren't allowed to touch this journal. Besides, you still haven't upheld your end of the deal-and frankly, I'm getting tired of waiting-how can I trust you if you can't even keep your end of our deal?"

"How do you expect me to help if I can't look through the journal for the spell, genius?"

"You're Bill freaking Cipher, you don't need to look through the journal to know a spell or potion."

Bill had no response since Pine Tree was right. He wasn't _actually_ trying to do anything malicious, but he can't deny the fact that there was a very real chance that he would have taken the opportunity to do something evil with the journal had he gotten the chance to take it. But if Pine Tree was going to play like this, there was little he could do. And he did aspire to help the kid, for whatever incomprehensible reason.

"Alright," he admitted, "ya got me. I do know the recipe for a potion off-hand but don't expect me to do your dirty work. She's _your_ sister, pal."

"I'm not your 'pal', man."

"I'm not a man, meatbag."

"Just come on, mister mono-optic being of pure annoying," Dipper grumbled, marching away.

"Do you even know where you're going?"

"Back to the shack. If I'm making a potion, I'm gonna need alchemy supplies." Bill stretched out and wrapped an arm around Dipper's torso, stopping the kid from walking any further. He reeled him back until the younger was against his body. On contact, Bill blushed a tiny bit; Pine Tree was soft. He relaxed ever so slightly against the child, shamefully enjoying the plush fleshy feeling against his front.

"Now hold on there, Pines," Bill said brightly. "Why would you wanna walk all the way back there when there's a gold mine of alchemy supplies just lying around this place?"

"What? I can't steal from a hospital! That's wrong and not to mention illegal."

"Like you cared about legality when you fought the tangle."

"I...shut up."

"Come on, Pine Tree!" Bill urged. He pushed the other lightly, but enough to nearly knock Dipper off his balance. As the preteen was steadying himself, Bill soared off down the hall.

"Bill, wait!" There was no way he could let Bill Cipher roam free in a building full of sick and defenseless people. God only knows what he'd do to anyone if he got his grubby little hands on them. Mutilation? Grand theft internal-organs? Replacing people's tongues with slugs? Undoubtedly. A shiver passed over his body; he didn't want to think about it. He shook his head and followed swiftly after the demon.

The pair came to a stop at the corner just short of the lab. Dipper peeked his head around to see if the coast was clear, only to see Bill already coasting down the hall without a care in the world. Doors blew open as the triangle passed by them, swinging open to reveal the patients asleep inside. _Oh for the love of_...Dipper grumbled as he tailed behind, shutting each door and muttering a quick apology to every patient inside, despite whether or not they were asleep.

Suddenly, Bill came to a halt and took a sharp turn at the next door. A small world of tubes, flasks, and vials unfolded before him. This should do nicely, he figured as he moved over to a counter top of choice where he stood until Dipper entered the room as well. He spawned his cane and strolled leisurely along, dragging the straight end along the glass tubes. As they clinked against the tip, Dipper bit his bottom lip. He rubbed his arm nervously.

"We shouldn't be in here. We might break something."

"What, you mean like this?" Bill said all too gleefully, making Dipper cringe. He picked up one of the flasks and threw it forcefully against the hard linoleum floors, causing it to shatter into a million pieces.

"Bill! That's not funny!"

"Lighten up, Pine Tree, yeesh. No one's gonna find us, probably." He added the last word just to give the other goosebumps, which happened to be a rousing success, much to Bill's delight. He chuckled at Dipper's discomfort.

"Whatever. Let's get this potion made and back to Mabel before we get caught," Dipper commanded, marching into the kitchen and selecting the utensils he intended to use. "Alright, what's first?"

"Heh, well let's see... The base of the potion is simple! First things first, y-" Bill froze mid-sentence. He stood there on the counter top, eye fixed intensely on Pine Tree so strong that he was practically burning a hole into him. And then he was. The twinge of burning pain made Dipper yelp and pat at the ovular hole seared into his side by Bill's pupil. Bill's fists clenched and trembled slightly at his sides. He realized that he was about to willingly give out free, no-strings-attached information-to Pine Tree, no less! An abnormal heat radiated off of him, one that was a mix of frustration, confusion, and another emotion he was just going to pretend he wasn't experiencing. A pulse of mana energy emanated off his being and rippled through the air. It caught Dipper's attention and he turned to see Bill glowing brightly and visibly shaking. He opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but decided he didn't know how exactly to ask the demon and still live too, so he flicked his eyes around the room, avoiding eye contact and hoping that Bill would continue his sentence or explain or _something_. Instead, he asked Dipper a question.

"How are you doing that?" he ground out, the beginnings of an angry shade of (what Dipper assumed was) red blooming over his shape. Dipper glanced at the wall then back at Bill. His gut twisted, shoulders tensing in fear.

"Uh...doing what?" he dared to ask back, inwardly prayed that inquiring that would not cost him his life.

In a flash, Bill lept from the counter and grew to twice Dipper's size. Veins cracked on either side of his pitch black eye. He pointed an accusatory finger at Dipper and glared down at him.

"Don't play dumb with me, Pines. You know what you did. How did you do it?" he thundered. Dipper jumped in his skin and curled inward a little.

"Uh...uh...I-I don't know what you're talking about! What did I do?" Dipper stammered. A rectangular white box opened up on Bill's body and depicted, on the far left, an X. Bill shot a laser next to where the kid was standing. Dipper shrieked and jumped the other way, where he was then backed up against the counter where he was getting ready to work.

"Strike one. Manipulation? Compulsion? Speak up, brat! I saw you researching those spells in that dumb journal of yours! How did you almost make me tell you the recipe?"

"What? Dude, I asked you! What's your freaking damage?" Bill fired again, this time shattering the glass tubes beside him. Another X appeared inside the box. "Geez, what are you, like, my mother? Why are you always counting down like I'm just a kid? Bill, I didn't do anything! Did you ever stop consider that just _maybe_ the problem is you?"

Bill wanted to say that he should crush him like an ant for that, but he couldn't get it out-let alone actually do it. He stood speechless for a few moments more before shrinking back down to normal size, deleting the box and Xs, and restoring his former colour.

"Y'know something, Pine Tree, I've been shockingly nice to you lately and I can't figure out why."

"Yeah," Dipper chuckled nervously, averting his eyes, "neither can I."

"I think I'm gonna help you with this love potion, but don't get used to handouts, kid." Bill gestured to his eye with one finger and then added a second finger when pointing at Dipper's eyes, "I'm watching you."

Dipper grinned wide. His eyes lit up with a joy that would have been surprising, had Bill been human and understood social abnormalities. This was the second-or maybe third, since Bill didn't kill him for suggesting that they start dating-instance of solid proof that all his hard work and patience was paying off. And more importantly, it was the first time he actually received a fraction of the end-game. It wouldn't be long now, he thought.

"Wow, thanks Bill!" he beamed. He started to say more, but he stopped himself on the thought that he might accidentally say too much, so instead he just nodded at the other and turned back to his workstation. As he was reaching for new supplies, the broken ones suddenly seamlessly repaired themselves. The utensils that had been blown to the floor levitated back up to their original positions. When Dipper glanced back to the demon, he saw a smile in Bill's eye. He looked proud of himself. Instead of verbalizing it, Dipper tilted his head and communicated his gratitude with his eyes. The gesture made Bill flush over again, but not in anger this time. He simply stared back at the kid, eye wide with a billion secrets behind it.

"Forget-me-nots," Bill said eventually.

"Huh?"

"You need forget-me-not flowers, dried jasmine and rose petals, cinnamon sticks, fresh spring water, and vanilla bean pods."

"That sounds like something you'd make in a kitchen, not a lab."

"Yeah, well," Bill pretended to examine his nails, "I wasn't exactly going to be so nice at first, but lucky for you and your sister, I changed my mind. Besides, alchemy was born in the kitchen, Dipstick." Dipper rolled his eyes and offered a friendly smile. "Okay, okay, that's enough. Go on and get this show on the road," Bill said, pushing Dipper out the door. When they got out to the hallway, Dipper suddenly grabbed Bill's hand, causing the demon to reflexively ignite his hand in a blue flame.

"Come with me."

Whoa.

 _Whoa_.

Bill didn't know how to respond to that. He was struck speechless. Without realizing it, his body faded away; going transparent, only his outline was visible to Dipper. But he still hadn't let go or tried to pry the younger off. After a moment, he even started to gently squeeze back.

That was Dipper's cue to start pulling him along down the hallway. Bill was silent all the way to the hospital entrance. When they stepped outside into the humid July night, he finally found his voice.

"Pine Tree..." he uttered. Dipper glanced back at him; he still hadn't reverted back to his usual opaqueness. Bill extended his other hand and a tiny glimmer sparked the spontaneous growth of a single branch of fresh jasmine from the center of his palm. "You won't find these anywhere in Gravity Falls, so here."

Something went wrong. Dipper felt his heart thud in his chest. A small blush came to his face at the sight of an emotionally-conflicted Bill Cipher handing him flowers that he (technically) grew himself. His blood ran hot as an unsteady hand reached out to take the offering. Part of him expected Bill to incinerate the blooms before he could take them. Part of him _wanted_ Bill to incinerate the blooms before he could take them; so that he could get mad and storm away and help Mabel all by himself, cursing Bill under his breath and himself for being so stupid as to momentarily forget his ultimate goals in light of Bill's uncharacteristic kindness.

But Bill did no such thing. He waited patiently for Dipper to retrieve the flowers and then dropped his hand back to his side without another word. His eye locked on the younger, Dipper couldn't meet the gaze to thank him silently, so he just whispered a polite thanks and pressed forward into the hot evening.

The pair made their way down the sidewalk from the top of Northwest Memorial hill, holding hands all the way into town. Bill allowed himself to be led along by the other to a small, twenty-four-hour country store at the bottom. About halfway down, he finally snapped out of his trance. He held a balled fist to his face and made a noise, as if clearing his throat, and turned back to his normal pallor. They came to a stop in front of the store where Dipper pondered whether or not he'd be able to get what he needed from there. Bill's gaze didn't leave him for a second. Only when they walked through the door did he finally slip his hand out of Dipper's grasp.

"You think potpourri will work for the dried rose?" Dipper asked, finger tapping his cheek.

"Pfft, yeah. If you wanna poison your sister."

"I don't exactly have time to dry fresh ones," Dipper frowned. Bill waved his hand dismissively.

"Don't worry about it, just get fresh ones."

"Well, alright." Dipper searched the isles until he came to a small floral section in the back of the store. Red, pink, and white roses wrapped up in a plastic bouquet were soaking in a large vase. Dipper grabbed the red ones, believing them to be the most potent based on the deep shade of grey they were. Tucking them under his arm, he then browsed the isles for cinnamon sticks.

He was taking a long time and Bill was getting bored, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. Well, actually more like into Dipper's hands. A crinkle of amusement in his eye, he twirled his finger around and then spoke in a tone of shock so loud it startled Dipper into goosebumps.

"Pine Tree, you seem to be experiencing the spice of life," he said. "Your tiny flesh sticks look like fresh sticks...of cinnamon... Whatever. No good jokes come to mind," he grumbled, rolling his eye and dropping his arms out in front of him.

"Huh?" Dipper held out his hand to see that his fingers had been transformed into rolls of cinnamon. He shrieked and shook his hand wildly in a fruitless attempt to make it go away. "Bill! Ugh, I'm tired of your dumb little pranks! I'm trying to help Mabel, here, and you're not taking it seriously!"

"Ooh, ouch! Looks like your _bark_ is worse than your bite, huh kid?" the demon said, bursting out in stitches of laughter. Dipper shot him a glare. Grumbling under his breath, he carefully plucked each of the cinnamon sticks growing from his palm, leaving empty spaces behind (he desperately hoped his fingers would grow back). Bill watched, satisfied with himself, as he did. And knowing the kid's boundaries, tamely grew the digits back after all the spices had been removed.

Dipper bit his tongue. He knew he would have to swallow his pride if he wanted to stay on Bill's good side, which he did. Half of him wanted to yell at Bill because Bill had proved that if he wanted, he could just spawn all of the ingredients they needed in an instant, but Dipper knew not to push his luck. Things were finally looking up; now was not the time to ruin it before he got what he wanted. So, amassing as much confidence as possible and putting a cork on the bottle of his pride, he let out a small chuckle. His eyes would not meet Bill's for fear that it would give away his lie.

"That was actually pretty funny," he admitted. Bill stopped cold, ceasing all laughter at once. It was almost chilling how quiet it was without Bill's obnoxious laughter.

"Say what?" he asked monotonously.

"You have a pretty good sense of humor when it comes down to it," Dipper replied, forcing out another fake laugh. "I mean, cinnamon sticks for fingers? Only you could help out that creatively! And I am _loving_ that 'bark' pun."

Once again, Bill had no response. Pine Tree actually _liked_ his teasing? That was a first. It was also the first time anyone at all had complimented him on his teasing. For a moment, he wondered if he should play it off as another joke and say that he himself loved it too, but for once, part of him on the inside told him not to ruin the moment. Instead he just shrugged and looked away. It was the only other thing he thought to do.

Dipper smiled to himself; it was working. He stood up straight with pride and turned to go pay for the items.

...

The last two, the forget-me-nots and the fresh spring water, were going to be a royal pain to collect. According to Bill-in Gravity Falls, the flowers only grow next to the spring water which is located at the top of the cliffs somewhere off the trodden path to where the waterfall begins. It was a long walk that, to make it worse, had started with them on the opposite side of town. Not to mention, it was already very dark out. Dipper was inclined to ask Bill to be merciful and either teleport them there or carry him since he was endowed with levitation, but Bill snapped back with a response that he was 'not a taxi service' and would do no such thing. Dipper wasn't surprised-his plan hadn't reached that stage yet-but it was worth a shot.

It took them an ungodly amount of time-about three and a half hours-to make it to the top of the cliffs on foot. How Dipper had managed to drown out all of Bill's incessant talking and pranks was no less than a miracle of nature. Though they'd had numerous close-calls including coyotes, raccoons, and stomach-faced ducks (those bastards), the duo had at last made it to the trail that lead alongside the river feeding into the waterfall. Not a moment too soon, Dipper thought as he rubbed the bruises on his arm.

"Alright, we're _finally_ here so what now?" he asked in a snappy tone. Bill shot his eye toward the other angrily. He clenched his fists and then crossed his arms.

"Easy with the attitude, Pine Tree, we still have a ways to go and," he held up two fingers on each hand and made quote motions, "'god' forbid I start getting annoyed with you."

Dipper bit his lip so hard it left teeth marks in the skin. He fought to keep his blood from boiling over the top, taking a deep, cleansing breath and pressing forward, expecting Bill to keep up.

"Yeah," he grumbled. "God forbid."

Not another word was spoken for the longest time. Bill simply floated alongside Dipper as they walked the path with his gaze fixed sharp on him. Dipper was walking with his eyes pointed straight forward (most likely keeping an eye out for any more of those stomach-faced death machines), and it honestly amazed him. For hours on end, Pine Tree had put up with his obvious attempts at breaking his spirit without so much as a shush. He'd roll his eyes from time to time or mutter things under his breath but that was honestly just about the tamest form of disgust he'd ever received. In a way, he really appreciated it and in that moment, if he could have smiled physically, he would have.

Tensions started to decrease and Bill dramatically sighed.

"You know something, Pine Tree," he began, breaking the silence, "I give you such a hard time. And even though it's all on purpose, and I have no intention of stopping, I'm actually kind of flattered that you put up with all of it without fuss." Dipper turned to look at the demon as they-as he-walked. "I get it; when we first met, you treated me how you would have treated anyone trying to steal your great uncle's memories." There was another one of Dipper's famous eye rolls. Bill passively dismissed it. "But I must admit, you have me officially puzzled. Why the sudden change of heart, kid?"

A breath of relief in Dipper's mind that he had planned an answer to this question from the very start on the narrow chance that his plan actually work and not get him slaughtered. He put on a show of being mildly nervous, rubbing the back of his neck and clearing his throat, so that he would appear genuine.

"It's something you wouldn't understand."

Bill gave him a deadpan glare as though that was the stupidest thing he'd ever said. He was the all-seeing eye, and there was little to nothing that he didn't understand. Dipper forced a blush and looked away.

"I-I mean because it's a human thing."

"Intestinal gas?"

"Oh my god," Dipper recoiled, locking his fingers in his hair and shaking his head. If ever there was a time he would like to un-hear something, it was now. "No!" he corrected. "No...it's different than that." He rolled his eyes again and muttered lowly, "but sorta just as embarrassing."

"Oh, you mean human existence entirely!"

"Bill." They exchanged amused and annoyed expressions respectively. "Just forget it, man."

"Alright alright, geez kid. No fun allowed, huh?"

They continued in silence for the rest of the way until Bill showed Dipper where they needed to veer off the path. It wasn't a very long walk from there until they reached the freshwater springs from which to gather the water.

Bill moved over to it and pointed, "right here."

"Great, now we can finally finish the po-" the younger was cut off by the branch he was pushing out of the way swinging back and hitting him in the face, knocking him to the ground. Bill cracked up in laughter.

Dipper approached the spring and dipped in his water bottle. As he was waiting for it to fill up, the otherwise gentle movement of the water began to stir. He squinted at the surface, watching ripples appear in the current.

Just as he was opening his mouth to ask Bill if what they were doing was entirely safe, a webbed claw reached out from the pond and jerked him under. His hat was left floating along the surface. Bill laughed again, going over to circle the area where Pine Tree had been abducted.

Reflexively, Dipper started to scream, letting out most of the air from his lungs. Right away, he realized that was a mistake and shut his mouth tight. Everything was blurry, but he forced his eyes open, doing his best to focus on the outline of the creature that he was dealing with.

Its claws were digging into his skin, releasing some of his blood into the water. And from what Dipper could make out, it was not a siren or a dragon of any type. It's shape was more like that of a salamander but with more of a mermaid-like tail. Soon, it had all four of it's arms wrapped around Dipper and hugging him tightly to its chest as it swam to the bottom of the pond and rested against the floor. It was going to drown him.

Dipper fought against it, struggling to get out of its grasp. He tried to worm his way out, but seeing as that didn't work, he then tried clawing it back. Still no response. Sinking his teeth into the beast, he resorted to biting it. This earned him a strangling choke hold from the beast, and with his lungs already screaming for air, he knew it wouldn't be long. Chills ran all over his body, and human instinct took over as he flailed to find air. The last of his breath reserve was released in large bubbles, netting him a few more seconds before he would be struggling again for the final time.

Suddenly there was a light. Followed suit by an obnoxious voice.

It was Bill.

"So listen, fish breath," he began, "I noticed you've got something of mine. And I'm only going to ask nicely once for you to give it back." He added a small chuckle to emphasize his point. "And I'm not a guy you want to see mad, you can ask Pine Tree there-the one you're currently drowning."

The beast opened up it's jaws, revealing it's needle-like teeth and screeched at him, holding tighter onto Dipper in a nearly crushing grip.

"Suit yourself," Bill shrugged as he snapped his fingers. The beast instantly dropped unconscious into a forced slumber. The demon then extended his arms and pushed it out the way, rescuing the trapped preteen and quickly dragging him to the surface.

He dropped the boy to the ground and Dipper promptly started heaving deep breaths. His head was spinning at a nauseating rate and the whole world seemed fuzzy. The air around him felt freezing cold to his saturated clothes. Bill hovered silently behind him, his arms crossed as he waited for Dipper to regain his composure.

"It was _that easy_?" he uttered with his head hung. Bill said nothing. Dipper shook like a leaf as he stumbled to his feet. "I was nearly drowned and crushed, and you could have saved me _that easily_?" he said, raising his voice to a shouting tone. "Bill, why didn't you tell me there was a monster down there?"

"What do you think makes the water so special?"

"Ugh! I can't believe you! You-you..." He started to pace the ground, fingers tangled in his hair with rage, before slowing to a stop. He looked at his hands, the world felt surreal. "You saved my life."

"Huh?"

"Bill, I almost died down there. Without you, I'd be dead."

"You don't have to rub it in," he said with a slight blush, making an effort to hide the fact.

"No no, that was amazing! I can't believe you actually rescued me! Bill..."

"Kid, it was an impulse reaction, don't get too-" he was silenced by Dipper lurching forward and wrapping his arms tight around him. His triangular shape didn't exactly make the best for hugging, but all the same, Dipper couldn't let go. His heart beat fast as he smiled against Bill's textured body. This time, Bill didn't-reflexively or otherwise-attempt to dodge. His eye went impossibly wide and he put off a heat that nearly singed Dipper's arms, but the preteen wouldn't let go. In fact, he held on even tighter.

And then slowly, sure enough, Bill lifted shaky hands to the child's back and returned the hug.

...

It was too late to return to the hospital, so the two of them found themselves back at the Mystery Shack. On the way home, Bill had generously flash-dried Dipper's wet clothes when he noticed the boy shivering.

They would have to get the potion to Mabel first thing in the morning, before she was released. How they were going to get it to the nurse was a whole problem on its own, but first things first, they needed to brew it.

Dipper made sure Stan was sound asleep before heading into the kitchen. He retrieved a sauce pan from the cabinet under the counter and turned the stove up to a simmering heat. The spring water went in first and then he turned to Bill to see what next to do. The demon was staring at him wordlessly and didn't seem like he had the intention to speak any time soon, so Dipper spoke up first.

"Alright, so I'm supposed to simmer the spring water first. What should I do while it's warming up?"

Bill's light dimmed a little bit, but enough for Dipper to notice. He wasn't sure he was exactly comfortable with giving out any more free information, especially not after what happened up by the springs. He knew now that he was getting in too deep; going soft. Pine Tree already knew too much and especially without giving anything in return. On the other hand, he enjoyed the warm feeling he got when pointing the kid in the right direction. It was like no other feeling he had ever experienced. Warm and smooth, somewhat like bubbles forming in his core.

The paintings on the walls started rumbling. Drawers shot out and cabinets swung open. The chairs slid out from under the table, began levitating, and spun in mid-air. The kitchen lights then started flickering. Dipper's eyes widened, his stance dropping to a cautious one. Bill's bright aura turned black around him and his pupil narrowed.

"Whoa, whoa! What's going on? Bill, is everything alright?"

The chaos continued a few seconds more and then it all stopped at once.

Confused, Dipper remained on edge. He flicked his eyes away and then back at Bill like he was expecting something else to happen at any moment. But it didn't. Bill pointed to the vanilla beans.

"Split them length-wise," he stated, never taking his eye off Dipper. Nodding, Dipper moved slowly and took a knife out of the already open drawer. He held the beans still and cut them all one by one. Chills raced up and down his spine. Bill was hovering behind him so close that, if he breathed air, he'd be breathing on Dipper's neck. His eye was so wide that the veins were visible, but Dipper did his best to ignore it. His shoulders were tense, but he made sure to cut slowly and carefully so that he didn't accidentally hurt himself. He dare not ask Bill what just happened. The halves made tiny splashing noises as they plopped into the pan.

Next, Bill gently moved Dipper out of the way so that he was in front of the flowers. He held his hands out over the blooms. With a magical influence, the flowers rose up into the air. A crack of static charge split the silence and all petals detached from their stems, fluttering down to the counter top while the stems were reduced to ashes under an intense heat that Bill puppeteered. Below, the petals were flash-dried in the same way he'd done to Dipper's clothes earlier. The demon moved back and let the other resume the recipe.

"Nice!" Dipper praised as he chucked the dried petals into the brew. Bill's light brightened. "I know you told me not to worry about it, but I wasn't expecting that! It was really cool to watch!" Brighter. "Thanks, Bill!"

"Don't mention it, kid." He crossed his arms and kept his back to the other. Dipper couldn't help a smirk creeping onto his face, but wiped it off as quickly as he could.

"Do the cinnamon sticks just go right in?" he asked without looking at Bill.

"What do you think?" the demon muttered, pulsing waves of mana in a fashion similar to accelerated breathing.

The smirk returned and evolved into a grin as he dropped the sticks into the water and gave the mixture a light stir. Perfect.

"Okay, all we have to do is wait a bit for the stuff to drain out of the elements and then strain it, right?" Bill didn't answer him. "So what do you wanna do while the potion's brewing?"

"I've got places to be and people to torment, Pines, you really think I wanna stay here and babysit you?" Bill snapped. An icy stream of discouragement chilled Dipper's veins, but he kept a steady voice and replied.

"Do you?"

Oh.

Um.

There was a long silence before Bill spoke again.

"What do you wanna do, anyway?"

Joy, pride, and satisfaction coursed through Dipper's body like a vivacious electrical current. Unbelievable! He actually had a chance to make this work. He was unable to hold back his giddiness, but tried to make as little noise as possible. Now, as long as he didn't botch it up, there was plenty of hope.

"Well, it's almost morning. It took so long getting all the stuff we needed that the sun is about to come up." Dipper stood on his tip-toes to look out the window and then turned back to Bill, rubbing his tired eyes. "You...wanna maybe catch the sunrise?" he drawled.

"What's so great about seeing a ball of fire light up the Earth? You humans and your stupid sentiments."

"I mean, I'm sure it's nothing all that great to you, but we never did get to have our date...if you still wanna do it, that is. The morning fairies will be out soon, we could throw some rocks at them if you'd like."

"Hm, Pine Tree suggesting we go torture innocent creatures; I never thought I'd see the day! Tell ya what, kid, I'll take you up on that offer. Those stupid sun pixies owe me money," Bill said with mild irritation.

"Great!" Dipper grinned. He took off running out of the kitchen, taking Bill's hand on the way and pulling him along. It surprised the demon and his first instinct was to detach his arm. Dipper looked back, confused and seemingly a little hurt. Bill's eye was wide and narrow, face dusting over with colour. Without meeting Dipper's eyes, he retrieved his severed arm from the kid's hand and attached it back to his body.

That was awkward.

A silent agreement not to talk about it came to pass between shifty eyes. The demon moved in closer and this time, he took Dipper's hand. Willingly.

Another numbing thud pounded in Dipper's chest at the tender contact. He couldn't help a small blush. This was all very new ground to him. Mabel was the casanova, not he. And certainly not with a demon. Both of them stared at their interlocked hands for seconds before Dipper eventually slapped himself mentally back into the situation at hand. There was still work to do and even though it was quite obvious Bill was starting to grow a soft spot for him, he had to remain cold and focused as ever or he would lose all direction, sacrificing everything he'd worked for, and never get to solve the boundless mysteries Gravity Falls had in store for him. And that was not going to happen.

The preteen looked up and gave Bill a smile, but the demon didn't seem to notice. He was far too lost still staring at the contact between them to realize his surroundings. Slowly, Dipper urged them toward the stairs. He led them upstairs and outside onto the room to watch the daybreak. The world was mute, chilling morning dew blanketing over the earth and dampening Dipper's shorts as he sat down on shingles. Bill was paying no attention, still entranced by his choice to take the younger's hand, but Dipper didn't mind. It was actually kind of nice to not hear his voice running non-stop. Peaceful.

They sat together in silence for seconds-turned-minutes until the land grew lighter. The sun was beginning to peek over the hill, filtering between the trees. Dipper pointed ahead and broke the silence.

"Okay, here it goes. The fairies should come out any moment now." Bill's gaze rose from their hands to the morning sun and as they watched, little glimmers of fairy dust twinkled in the golden rays. Soon, tiny bodies began fluttering in front of the sun, casting small shadows onto the shack.

"There's those jerks," Bill grumbled, glaring at them. He held his unoccupied hand to his imaginary mouth. "Hey, sunspots," he shouted, "time to pay your _bill_!" And in a friendlier tone, he looked to Dipper and chuckled with a smile glint in his eye, "Get it, Pine Tree? Bill? Cause that's my name!"

Ugh.

Dipper cracked up laughing, squeezing Bill's hand.

"Good one!" he congratulated. The moment Bill turned his attention back to the fairies, Dipper stuck his tongue out in the other direction and noiselessly gagged. The fairies seemed to ignore Bill's presence entirely, fluttering on their merry way and collecting sunlight pollen.

"Stupid pixies think they're better than everyone else. I'll show them!" He stretched his arm all the way down to the ground and collected a handful of rocks to pitch at them. As he was reeling back to throw one, Dipper stopped him.

"Wait, let me throw the first one," he asked.

Bill agreed, handing Dipper the stone. The preteen excitedly wound back his pitching arm and let hell fly.

It barely went twelve inches.

Bill broke into laughter.

"Shut up!" he snapped, quick as a whip. That only made Bill laugh harder. He kicked his legs wildly and got louder and louder until the fairies stopped dead in their tracks and all turned to face the pair. Dipper raised his eyebrows at the sight; Bill's laughing disturbed their work and now they were mad. "Bill, shut up, the fairies are upset. We got their attention." The demon straightened up and wiped a tear from his eye.

"Hey, twinkle-toed freaks, time to pay up!" he demanded only to be met by angry chattering so quiet and fast that Dipper was unable to catch what they were saying...if they were even speaking English, that is. "Look, I don't care about your dumb sun rays just pay up or Pine Tree and I are gonna have some fun with you guys."

Synchronized growling shook the air at a resonating pitch that gave Dipper a splitting headache. He clapped both hands over his ears and grit his teeth. Annoyed at their resistance, Bill materialized a television remote and clicked 'mute', causing all fairy growling to go silent.

"See what I mean, Pine Tree? They don't think they owe anything to anyone. Entitled little fucks, aren't they?" Dipper hesitantly removed his hands from his ears. Bill dropped some of the stones into Dipper's lap. "Maybe you can hit the close ones. At least get some practice, kid, you're just pathetic."

Humph.

Fairies scurried and panicked as an avalanche of pebbles and stones flew their way. Some of them hit, knocking the tiny bodies out of the air. Other fairies retreated to their homes in the tree tops. Bill and Dipper shared genuine and ungenuine laughs respectively. Finally, after five or so minutes, Dipper landed a hit.

"I got one!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet with excitement.

"Nice job, kid. Keep working on it."

Wow, Bill complimented him. Dipper smiled, looking down at the demon. There were first times for everything, he supposed.

After a while, all of the fairies were either downed or had forfeited; and Bill and Dipper were left sitting with their feet hanging over the edge of the roof, watching the sun climb higher into the sky. At some point, without even realizing it, they had ended up leaning against each other, Dipper's head resting on Bill's side. All was quiet between them for the time being after Bill had noticed that Dipper drifted off to sleep on his shoulder.

He watched him snooze soundly for a while until eventually, as much as he didn't want to, he gently shook Dipper awake.

"Kid, it should be about time for that potion to be done," he told him. Dipper stretched his arms and yawned.

"What time is it? Am I late for school?" he asked, still half-asleep. Bill thought about it for a moment and then responded.

"Yeah, you better get downstairs and get your breakfast." It got Dipper up and moving, though a little sluggishly. As they got downstairs, Dipper had woken up a little more.

"Wait a second, it's summertime. I don't have school. Bill!" Bill chuckled. Dipper shook his head. "What a relief, actually," Dipper smiled as he was pouring the brew into the strainer. A small vial topped with a funnel rested underneath to catch the juices. When it was near brimming, he sat the pot with the remaining brew back on the stove and turned off the heat. He corked the potion bottle and marked it with a tiny red heart.

"There," Bill said. "Much easier than dealing with the love god. Hate that guy. The only reason he got his powers is because no one else would take a job so stupid." Dipper grinned and shook his head.

"That, I would believe. Come on, let's head back to the hospital," he mumbled, halfway interrupted by a yawn. As he was staggering toward the door, Bill, making a snake-like motion with his arm (for kicks), put a hand on Dipper's chest.

"Whoa there, kid. Speaking professionally as a dream demon, you need sleep. You won't make it halfway there before you drop."

"But I've gotta get this to Mabel before she leaves today."

"Trust me, she won't be leaving anytime soon. I made sure of that."

"Oh yeah," Dipper recalled, a little annoyed at Bill's choice of actions. "Well..." he pondered, turning the bottle over between his fingers. "I guess it could wait."

"Good!" Bill chimed, removing his hand and smiling with his eye. "Now off to bed with you!" The demon pushed him along toward the stairs.

"Wait, you're not trying to trick me, are you?" Dipper asked, digging his heels into the ground.

"Now why would I do that? What reason would I have, Pine Tree, tell me that."

While ' _Trust no one_ ' kept chiming in his head, Dipper went against his better judgment. Sighing and deciding it would be beneficial to put some faith in the other, he stopped resisting.

"Alright, Bill, I trust you."

"Wow, really kid?" Bill made a show out of it by materializing a sign with flashing lights that pointed an arrow at Dipper; it read 'Finally gets it!'. He fabricated a microphone with a cord that plugged into himself at his side. It brought a whole new meaning to 'being of energy'. "And tell me, Mister Pines, what made you decide to go against that stupid journal, finally?" Dipper swatted at the microphone that was pointed at his face and the setup deconstructed into a smoke that diffused in the air.

"Cut that out," he said. "You saved my life, Bill, I really have no reason not to trust you. Thanks again for that, by the way." Bill rubbed a hand behind his head and shrugged.

"Like you said, I haven't finished my end of our deal. I need you alive. If you die before I finish my end, it spells big trouble for me and that's all I have to say about it. I'll get back to you on it eventually, kid. I have my reasons for putting it off which you don't need to know." Bill couldn't meet Dipper's diligent eyes, trained on him and listening attentively. He put his hands back on Dipper's shoulders and pushed him toward the stairs again. "Now get upstairs and go to bed, I'm very late for something and I can't stick around anymore." _As much as he'd like to_. Dipper glanced back at the demon for a second and gave him a tiny smile before turning and heading up to his room.

Bill watched until his door clicked shut and then closed his eye. He held each of his hands out to his sides, orbs of light glowing in either one.

"Sweet dreams, Dipper."

And then he vanished.


	6. Magic

"You're gettin' in too deep," Bill muttered to himself as he pressed his palm flat against his forehead.

"Hm? Sorry, what was that?" Dipper asked, looking back at the demon following behind him.

"I said you didn't get enough sleep," Bill replied, raising his voice a little and changing his tone to a slightly more annoyed one.

"Oh, sorry. I really wanted to make sure I got this to Mabel as soon as possible." The preteen turned the potion over in his hand. He hoped it would work for her sake. At least then she would get what she wanted after taking a nasty spill down the stairs for that dumb guy.

"Yeah, well..." Bill crossed his arms and blushed. He averted his gaze from the other. "Not sleeping enough will make you sick, and you don't get a lot of sleep as it is."

"Why do you care anyway?"

"What?"

"Why do you care how much sleep I get? Last time I stayed up late, you tricked me into making a deal with you so you could steal my body."

"Your, ah, your dreams," he mumbled, flicking his eye around the hallway and just anywhere but the kid staring him down. Dipper raised an eyebrow. "Your dreams get...your energy gets all messed up when you don't sleep and it throws off...you don't... _Get off my back!_ " And with that, Bill made a dramatic exit in a ball of silver flames.

Dipper stopped walking for a second to process what had just happened before turning back and continuing along with a wide grin spread across his face that was almost villainous.

When he reached Mabel's room, the door was already wide open and welcoming of visitors. Dipper had only managed to get about three hours of sleep before heading off to the hospital again, so it was still very early and Mabel was having her breakfast.

"Good morning, sister beast," he greeted with high spirits.

"Looks like someone's in a good mood today," Mabel replied. "What's the occasion?"

She wouldn't get to know the real reason why, but Dipper hoped the potion would be a good enough answer for her.

"Guess who's getting the boy of their dreams?"

"Is it you?" Mabel giggled. "You _have_ been spending a lot of time with Bill lately!"

"What? No!" he groaned; though it was technically true if she wanted to think of it that way. "Mabel, I stayed up all night working on a love potion for you, see?" He took his sister's hand and passed the vial to her. She reeled back, eyes lighting up as she examined the lightly tinted orange fluid and the little red heart drawn on the front. But she then furrowed her brows and looked back up to her brother, clutching the bottle tightly in her hand.

"Are you just messing with me, bro-bro?"

"Unless the recipe was wrong," which was entirely possible considering the unreliable source, "I'm one-hundred-percent guaranteeing you that that potion will work wonders."

"Aw Dipper," Mabel cooed, opening her arms wide, "awkward sibling hug?" Dipper smiled, a light blush colouring his cheeks.

"Awkward sibling hug," he accepted. After a few seconds, Mabel pulled back to look at her brother again.

"But wait, how are we supposed to get this to Nurse Cullen? There's no way he's just gonna drink some questionable fluid on his own." Dipper frowned and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, Mabel. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly swarming with girls," he said, crossing his arms and puffing his cheeks.

"That's because you're a big dork!" Mabel teased, falling back into her pillows and kicking her feet with laughter.

"Yeah, whatever," he groaned. After all his work, she still continued to pick on him. "Anyway, I'm sure you could probably spike his coffee with it or something. Whatever works, I guess." He turned to leave, but Mabel stopped him.

"Dipper wait," she said. "Come on, bro-bro, I need your help."

As Dipper was opening his mouth to retort, there came a knock to the door, followed by the squeak of the hinges turning. Nurse Cullen. Of course, who else? In one hand, he had his morning coffee and in the other was a clipboard that he held pressed up against his chest. Somehow, he seemed even more obnoxiously glorious than normal, but maybe Dipper was just being bitter about the whole situation. But then, he almost gagged once the smell of his cologne hit him. It was sickeningly overpowering and nearly choked him. He went to cover his mouth and nose, but Mabel shot him a look that told him to stop being rude. Begrudgingly, dropping his hands again, he practically glued them to his sides as the nurse walked past and stood at Mabel's bedside. She inhaled deeply and held her hands clasped together up to her face, giving him the sweetest puppy dog eyes she could muster.

"Is that your cologne I smell?" she asked dramatically. Ugh. Dipper rolled his eyes; her flirting was smelt as bad as his overdone cologne. He eyed the door, thinking about how he was going to make his escape. Mabel's voice sounded again, "Hey, look over there!" she shouted. The nurse foolishly turned to look where she was pointing and in the brief moment his eyes were off her, she uncorked her vial of love potion and emptied its contents into his drink. The whole thing went in there in barely enough time before he turned back around. Mabel snapped her arms back to her sides, hiding the bottle under the blankets and feigning a grin. She gave a nervous laugh and watched as he raised an eyebrow at her. "Whoops, guess I'm seeing things. Must still be dizzy from taking that fall down the stairs."

"You should get some more rest," the nurse said. "It'll be good for you." Mabel was watching him intently as he lifted the white styrofoam to his lips and took a sip of his coffee. A wide grin spread across her face, eyes twinkling with anticipation.

There was a silence.

Eventually, he simply nodded to her and told her that if she needed anything to buzz in for him. After that, he gave a polite nod to Dipper and left the room. Dipper didn't nod back, only stared with disgust.

"Dipper," Mabel griped, throwing her arms up, "why didn't it work? You one-hundred-percent guaranteed it would work!"

"Maybe it's the fates saying you don't actually belong together, you ever thought of that?"

"Where did you find this recipe anyway, somewhere on the internet?" Mabel accused, crossing her arms.

"Hey, my source may be unreliable, but I'm not that dumb!" Mabel responded with a silent glare. "Look, maybe you should just give up on this dumb guy. He's like, a million years older than you and he's your nurse. There are plenty of other dumb guys to obsess over when you're out of here, you know."

"Well, if he's a million years older than me, then at least he'll have to be a vampire."

"Or a zombie!" Dipper corrected snappily, prompting Mabel to roll her eyes and shake her head.

"Why don't you just leave me alone, Dipper," she muttered, casting her eyes to the floor beside her. "Thanks for nothing."

Ouch.

For a moment, Dipper stared at her with his mouth agape, completely shocked she would say something like that after all he'd went through to get it for her. He huffed out a breath and squared his shoulders.

"Fine." Dipper straightened his vest and left the room in a small fury. He didn't need her anyway. He'd been wasting all this time coming to visit her and making sure she got the guy she wanted when he could have been making sure everything fell into place with his plans. He hoped it wasn't too late.

As he marched down the hallway towards the vending machines, he balled his fists, glanced around to make sure no one was watching, and then shouted out, "Bill!" He waited a few moments and when the demon didn't show up, he spoke in a quieter, but still just as hateful, voice, "Bill, I know you can hear me, get over here right now!"

Like magic, the painted white bricks in the wall next to him reshaped to display a discoloured equilateral triangle. A half-moon crack appeared in the clay and opened up to reveal Bill's eye. He said nothing, but just stared at Dipper half-annoyed.

"No, I said get over here. Don't half ass it, you ignoramus."

The triangular shape popped from the wall, leaving no visible indication it had ever been a part of the structure, and regained its pallor, spawning in a top hat and cane. Bill had a bored expression on his face as he stared down at Dipper, and the younger noticed that he was dripping with water.

"Colourful words for a colour blind kid. Make this quick, Pine Tree, I'm a little bit busy at the moment."

"Why didn't it work?" Dipper snarled, pointing an accusatory finger at the demon. "Did you lie to me? I mean, I wouldn't be surprised, but come on, Bill I thought we-" he cut himself off and clammed up. His face grew hot suddenly and he broke eye contact with Bill. After a quick second of deliberating with himself, he figured it might actually be beneficial to say it and looked back at him. "I thought...I could trust you. I thought we were...I thought we were close last night."

Bill's eye widened and his pupil narrowed. Alarms blared, bells rang, whistles screeched, red lights flashed, and flags palpitated. Outwardly. Each warning object hung in the air around Bill's saturated body, wailing their hysterical song, and Dipper gaped in disbelief. The boy threw his arms out in front of him and gave Bill a look that said "seriously?"

"Sorry," Bill said. He reached out to grab the each item and then forcefully stuffed them back inside his non-physical body, never taking his eye off Dipper, "that just sort of slipped out." Dipper squinted and crossed his arms, rolling his eyes. There was a few moments of silence between them where Dipper just shook his head and wouldn't meet Bill's stare. "Look, kid, did you think it was going to work instantly?" Dipper looked back at him through the corners of his eyes, refusing to give him the satisfaction of his full attention. "Ugh," Bill slapped a hand to his forehead, "you called me here just for that? Pine Tree, you have to let it get in the fleshbag's system, like one of your human antidotes or whatever. Unlike the love god's phoney bologna 'love' potion, this one purifies emotions instead of making your puny brains chemically unbalanced. Get it?"

"I-"

"Good. Don't bother me again. I'll be back." Poof, he was gone. Dipper blinked and shook his head. He groaned and ran a hand through his bangs. With an added sigh, he headed back for Mabel's room...without watching where he was going and managing to slip on the puddle of water Bill's questionably dripping wet body had left behind, crashing backwards with a shriek and a thud.

Stupid triangle.

As Dipper pushed open the door to Mabel's room, the sound of lovey-dovey giggling made him suddenly nauseous. He paused halfway through opening it, contemplating if he even wanted to know what was going on behind that door. After a moment, he gave it another light push and peeked inside.

Mabel and her nurse were cuddled up together in her bed, giving each other eskimo kisses and arguing over which one of them was cuter. Gross. Corny romance movies were showing on the hospital TV, and he could hear the sloppy onscreen make-outs from where he was standing.

"Oh nurse Cullen," Mabel cooed, "you make me the happiest girl to have ever slipped into a coma and fallen down the stairs!"

"Please," he replied breathily, "call me Edwin." Mabel giggled and snuggled closer to him. "Did it hurt when you fell for me, my love?"

"Yes! Yes it did!"

"Nope." Dipper backed right the way out of there and threw his hands up, frowning as hard as he could and furrowing his brows. "I'm gonna barf. Nope, nope, nope. Goodbye. Going home."

But deep down, Dipper's heart smiled that his sister had finally gotten what she wanted-a vampire boyfriend. And on his way home, he slowed to a stop, looked back, and patted himself on the back for doing all of that for her. She sure was happy. Thank goodness.

...

'Believe in Yourself 2: Believe Harder' was the only thing on TV that afternoon that was worth watching. Much better than the first movie, this one had machine guns and sunglasses and explosions, which is probably why Mabel refused to buy the DVD when they saw it at the movie store. Not that Dipper really cared for warfare in movies, but the Used to be About History Channel wasn't showing anything supernatural today, instead they were showing historical events. Pfft, like anyone would want to watch _history_ on the Used to be About History Channel. Seemed like at that point, they were just trying to get views. Lame. And everything else on TV was soap operas and those awful romances that... _Edwin_...and Mabel were watching at the hospital and that was honestly the last thing he wanted to think about right now.

Dipper patted his lower stomach and muttered a 'be strong' as he curled a hand around his ice cold can of pitt cola and raised it to his lips. For once in weeks, he could relax.

"Hey kid! Got a present for ya!" Bill said in a chipper, enthusiastic voice as he appeared in an instant; for once, not making an over-dramatic entrance. He watched as Dipper seemed to be flailing excitedly below; must be really excited to see him! He was pounding on his chest and making short, breathless gasps, and turning red in the face, and even tearing up.

One final blow to the chest with all his strength and out of his mouth flew a peach pit that bounced as it hit the floor and rolled under the TV. Dipper sat there gasping and shaking and wiping away the tears from his face. He gazed helplessly up at Bill, a little angry that Bill did nothing to help, and had an amused and cheerful expression on his face the whole time. Now he seemed offended.

"Gross, Pine Tree. Spitting is a dirty habit." Dipper opened his mouth to retort, but Bill interrupted him before he even began. "Anyway, here, I got this for you," he said as he held out the disembodied, fanged head of the spring water monster that attacked and nearly killed Dipper. He plopped it down at Dipper's feet and hovered directly in front of him, between him and the TV. There was a distinct smile in his eye, and the hint of pride in his demeanor. "A head that never screams."

No way.

Dipper's heart rate sped up as he stared at the soaking wet and bloody mess laying before him. The way Bill seemed so proud reminded him of the way cats will bring dead birds and mice to their owner's doorstep as a gift. Bill was the cat; the head was the gift. A warmth washed over Dipper. He couldn't hold back the smile-turned-grin that crept onto his face.

The preteen sat up straight in his armchair and reached down to pet the course fur of the beast. It was dead. It was really dead. It tried to kill him and Bill avenged him, even when after he'd already saved him once. On one hand he should be a little mad because he didn't get the chance to record it in his journal while alive, but he just couldn't bring himself to be upset after this. It was really dead. He hung his head over it and tears started falling from his eyes, dripping down onto the deceased creature.

"Pine Tree, why are you crying? I did this for you because I thought you would be happy."

"Bill," he said in a shaky voice, "is this why you were dripping wet earlier? And why you didn't want to fully visit me? You were in the spring...killing this thing?"

"You hate it, don't you? Figures. After all the effort I went through for you, you ha-"

!

Oh.

This was...unexpected.

Bill stared wide-eyed down at the boy who had lunged for him, pressing his warm, fleshy human lips to the space just above his bow tie. His arms wrapped tightly around the demon, tears flowed down his cheeks, vanishing as Bill's body absorbed them on contact.

Bill said nothing, did nothing, thought nothing. His mind was as blank as the void.

Dipper adjusted his position, settling on his knees and moving his arms away from Bill's sides, instead taking his hands and lacing their fingers together so that their palms pressed together. Bill made no indication of resistance. For the longest time, he allowed Dipper to kiss him until finally...

Finally...

Bill kissed back.

His eye fell shut and he squeezed back on the grip Dipper had on his hands. He relaxed and centered his core body heat to where Dipper's lips were against him in an attempt to simulate lips of his own. He leaned into Dipper's touch, all of this making Dipper's heart thud against his chest. His skin was tingling, mind dizzy with love and awe. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach, a frog leaped into his throat, his palms got sweaty and he low-key hoped that Bill wouldn't notice or mind. And they stayed like that for a full minute before they separated again.

Their eyes were locked in each other's gaze, neither one of them saying a word. Dipper praying that Bill wouldn't leave him after that and Bill wondering what move to make next.

Silence.

They stared and stared and stared at each other wordlessly. An embarrassed blush eventually came over Dipper's face and upon seeing his reaction, Bill's body began to turn pink as well, right in his center.

Finally, Bill broke the silence.

"It's a Bunyip," he stated. It immediately became obvious to Dipper that he wasn't going to talk about what just happened between them. And he was okay with that. Because Bill kissed him back. And that meant he had him right where he wanted him. "They're only native to Australia, so you were pretty unlucky to come across one here."

But then again, Dipper thought, _he_ kissed Bill _first_. And not just a peck on the cheek, with the conscious intent of swaying him into liking him. It just happened. Without giving it a second thought-or even a first thought for that matter-he jumped at Bill and panted a kiss right where his mouth would be if he had one.

And that was a problem. He was losing sight of the endgame, what he really wanted in the end from Bill, and why this whole thing had even gotten this far. He would have to fight it, to remind himself why he was doing this, but the more that he thought against it, the larger the fire in his heart flared up and burned his resolve away.

Bill was staring at him. Uh oh, he needed to say something, but he only caught the first part of what he had said. Quickly, he hosted a nervous grin and gave Bill's hands another squeeze.

"I'll go get my journal!"

Peeling his hands away from Bill's, he got to his feet and raced upstairs to his shared bedroom. The moment the door slammed shut behind him, he fell to his hands and knees and wept. He liked Bill Cipher. He _liked_ Bill Cipher! It tasted sour on his tongue to mutter it silently to himself, but he could not lie to himself. Dipper found himself hopelessly in love with Bill freaking Cipher. This was going to put a major damper on all his plans. Not that it would make it impossible, but how could he allow such a careless mistake to distract him from his answers? Weeks had passed and he's only learned about one silly creature and Bill killed it. At this rate, the summer was going to be over and he will have learned nothing at all because he was too wrapped up in that _stupid_ triangle's charming personality.

He raised an arm and wiped away his tears and snot, a stormy look taking over his face as he crawled over to his bed, lifted the mattress, and pulled the journal out from under. Grabbing a pen from off his nightstand, he got to his feet, took a deep breath, and headed back downstairs.

Bill was still in the living room, sitting in the armchair and surrounding himself with open books that hovered around them in a circle. The pages fluttered as he read through them and Dipper feigned a look of utter excitement before approaching him.

"Hey Pine Tree, did you know that as of a few years ago, at least one thousand five hundred Earth species have shown signs of homosexual behavior?" he said, giving Dipper a snarky side glance. Dipper wasn't going to answer that.

"So you said it's a Bunyip, right?" he asked, feverishly scribbling down a doodle of the severed head laying on the floor. "And they're native to Australia?"

"You got it, kid. And usually, they live in swamps, so that one was a real _fish out of water!_ " Bill broke into stitches and Dipper couldn't help a genuine smile at his antics.

"That was really bad, Bill," he said with a short chuckle.

"Actually, I think it was pretty good! Where's your sense of humor, Pine Tree?" he snickered, shutting all the books around him and dropping them all into a chaotic pile beside him. "Hey, you know, you actually look pretty cute all excited about that journal and stuff." What harm could it do anyway? The thing was already dead and Pine Tree sure was a sight for sore eye with the way he was hastily writing things in the pages of that dumb book.

"Oh," he mumbled nervously, a tiny chuckle escaping him, "thanks. You...you wanna maybe go for a walk?"

"Only if you're doing all the walking, ground-bound," Bill chimed as he jumped off the couch and was airborne again. Dipper laughed and nodded.

"Of course," he smiled, "so is that a yes?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you, kid?" Bill remarked, doing a cartwheel in mid-air as he boredly waited for Dipper to lead the way. "Let's get going!"

Dipper blinked slowly, gazing at Bill somewhat dreamy-eyed. He tucked his journal under his arm and turned to hold the door open for Bill.

"Okay."

...

While Dipper conjured up a mockup of the particularly fluffy and floppy eared jackalope before him, Bill made himself comfortable on a nearby tree branch and watched. Something about the way Pine Tree's face lit up when he saw a new creature was addictive to say the least. Bill relaxed against the shaft of the tree, a wave of contentment washing over him.

"So what's the deal with these guys, Bill? How did this even happen? How could two creatures in totally different animal kingdoms produce this?"

"Didn't happen like that, kid," Bill said without hesitance. "Jackalopes are some sorta genetic mutation from a virus that got embedded in their DNA back in the eighteen hundreds."

Dipper feverishly wrote down every fact, occasionally glancing up to make sure the creature hadn't run off. It was enjoying itself with a patch of wild carrots, so he figured he had time.

"Actually," he continued, drawling the word a bit, "it wasn't until the nineteenth century that it was documented as just a germ, but you know how you humans like to deny the supernatural." Dipper rolled his eyes. That was the ugly truth. "But that's why I like you, Pine Tree!" The boy's writing slowed to a stop as his attention moved to where Bill was in the trees. "You're not ignorant, and you're not dumb. And, hah, I gotta admit that I was intimidated by that at first," the memory of Bill crushing his laptop and making efforts to steal the journal flashed through his mind, "but you know, it's actually impressive and I'm starting to think that not killing you wasn't such a bad mistake after all!"

Dipper rubbed the back of his head and blushed, averting his eyes. It wasn't the most conventional compliment, but he'd take it. Because coming from Bill, that had to mean a lot.

And when Bill taught Dipper how to properly approach a hippogriff without getting horribly maimed, an undeniable light shone in Dipper's eyes. And as Dipper was drawing a sketch of the beast whilst sitting atop its back, Bill thought he would be cute and gave it a start by striking it on its flank; which in turn caused it to rear up and take off. Dipper's reflexes chimed in and he dropped the journal, quickly grabbing onto Bill's wrist. Bill's sadistic laughter was replaced by screaming as he became an unexpected passenger of the flight.

But he couldn't be mad. Not at Pine Tree.

He was pulled into the sky along with Dipper, soaring high over the Gravity Falls treetops. Once they had stabilized, Dipper glanced back to see Bill fluttering around in the slipstream, eye twisted into a crooked swirl. Dipper couldn't help cracking up at the sight. He was probably incredibly dizzy. But who wouldn't be if they were beating like a flag on a voyage at high altitudes?

With time, Bill managed to pry his wrist out of Dipper's grasp. Dipper wrapped his arms around the hippogriff's neck and laughed at Bill's utterly peeved expression when he moved around to the side. Sure, he looked upset, but how mad could he be if he was still flying along with them? Bill rolled his eye. He'd let it slide. For Pine Tree.

And as they delved deeper into the woods, a gorgeous unicorn-possibly the _most_ gorgeous-stood next a pond where the trees separated into a small clearing where it caught Dipper's attention. He became entranced at the illustrious sight and he knew he had to get a closer look.

Without a word to Bill, he changed course and made his way through the underbrush that stood between him and the stallion. The closer he got, the more it seemed to sparkle and glint in the rays that shone between the filtering leaves. It stopped drinking as he approached it, turning to look at him with shimmering eyes, making no indication that it was apprehensive of his approach. He came to a stop a few feet from it and started to draw its image. Sleek silvery hair, strong and built body, glimmering horn-it was...really beautiful. Maybe it would let him ride it.

Setting the journal down at his feet, he carefully pressed the pads of his feet forward into the mossy clearing. The unicorn kept its eyes fixed on Dipper's hand he had held out to pet its muzzle.

So close, he muttered in a low voice, "Shh, I'm not gonna hurt you," and made one more step towards it.

"Pine Tree, _do not touch that horse!_ " Bill's voice rang out as he came crashing through the trees. Dipper immediately froze.

The unicorn reared up, swinging its hooves in the air and stamped down hard, making Dipper fall backwards. He gazed on with horror as the gorgeous image that had drawn him in melted away to reveal a black-as-tar demon with no back legs and an aquatic tail in its place. It started to crawl forward to seize Dipper, waving its tail wildly behind it to help propel itself along.

Immobilized by terror, chills ran over Dipper's entire body as it got closer and closer to him, whinnying in a warped bay. His eyes grew wide as dinner plates, body stiffened, heart rate near nonexistent.

Thank God (or maybe Satan?) for Bill.

An electric crash of lightening struck the beast right in the face, knocking out a portion of its skull and sending crashing to its side. Another bolt struck its ribs, blowing a hole where its innards should have been, but nothing except black goop seeped out of its body. It scrambled to get back to its hooves and made a u-turn for the pond, the tail nearly slapping Dipper in the face and missing him by just centimeters. He felt the wind.

" _Eat nightmares!_ " Bill thundered, his glowing red form passing Dipper and following the beast back into the pond, throwing wave after wave of brilliant thunderbolts at it. It barely escaped into the pond alive, but evidently that wasn't good enough for Bill.

Seething with rage, he plunged into the water after it.

A moment of stillness allowed for Dipper to shake himself of fear and get to his feet with wobbly knees. He stared into the motionless pool, watching with wonder and awe as he waited for something to happen.

A disembodied voice echoed through the trees, seeming to have no source, but the voice was unmistakable.

"Pine Tree

"is

" _mine!_ "

Suddenly, the forest was illuminated by a photon of brilliant light where the pool of water shot off electricity that went straight up into the sky, connecting to nearby clouds and creating a static that made Dipper's hair stand on his head. And neck. And arms. He had to shield his eyes from its light, and when he eventually peeked out, the pond had been reduced to a steaming ditch in the ground.

Dipper tiptoed up to it cautiously and glanced down into the pit where he saw Bill's body surrounded by a blazing aura of fiery rage and quaking with ferocity. He watched him silently for a few seconds until finally, the fire died away and Bill's arms dropped to his sides again. Without even turning to meet his eyes, he broke the silence.

"Don't fuck with kelpies, kid."

Dipper swallowed hard and reached for his journal. He would have to rewrite his entry.

And when Bill was dragging Dipper along through the trees, telling him to stop dragging his feet or they would miss the reincarnation, Dipper knew it had to be the same feeling Bill got when he was caught in the wind behind the hippogriff flight and he couldn't help a tiny laugh. His grip tightened on Bill's hand and at gazed at him with warm cheeks.

They finally came to a stop at a large ash pile that seemed out of place where it was in the woods and Dipper squinted at it in disbelief.

"A pile of ash-"

"Hush, Pine Tree, here they come!"

Dipper followed Bill's eye up into the sky as the midday sun was gradually being blotted out by a cloud of blackness. The sky grew dark as though it were an eclipse and slowly, light came back to the world. Seconds ticked by and Dipper began to notice ashes trickling down in front of his eyes into the heap.

"Phoenixes only reincarnate once every thousand and a half years. I couldn't let you miss this!"

Feint chirping manifested from the greyness and out popped hundreds of baby phoenix chicks. Dipper's eyes twinkled at the sight and a wide grin spread across his face as he began flipping through pages in the journal for a new entry. Bill side-glanced at him with a delighted glint, proudly putting his hands on his hips.

"You're _welcome,_ " he said smugly. Dipper looked up to him with bright eyes.

"This is incredible, I can't believe it! I'm seeing the mass reincarnation of a flock of phoenixes right before my eyes! Bill, you're-you're amazing!"

"Sure am," he gloated, moving over to the ash pile-turned-nest and settling himself between a few chicks. The babies surrounding him started to peck at his body. "Hey-hey, Pine Tree! Get a load of this-I'm a chick magnet! Draw me, Pine Tree!"

Returning a smile, Dipper happily obliged.

Not long after watching the fiery display in the sky, Dipper was starting to feel peckish. He turned to Bill with a hand over his stomach as it growled.

"You think maybe we should call it a day? I'm starting to get a bit hungry."

"Geez, Pine Tree, I slay a bunyip _and_ a kelpie for you and all I get is a three hour date? Yeesh, chivalry is dead."

"Sorry man, but unless there's a burger joint right around that willow tree over there, I'm about starved."

Bill put his hands over his face and pointed in the direction of the willow tree.

"Oh wow," he spoke in an obviously feigned tone of surprise, "what is that over there by the old willow tree? Could it be? Is that a burger joint I see?"

Dipper smiled and rolled his eyes. He looked to where Bill was pointing and sure enough, Bill had conjured a mockup burger joint.

"'Bunyip Burgers,'" he read out loud as he approached it, "'made from real fresh bunyip!' Seriously?" he laughed.

"Step right up!" Bill said showily, summoning his cane and twirling it around behind the counter. "Just slaughtered a fresh one this morning. Gave the head to some kid who nearly died to it. Real cute kid, got a nice head on his shoulders. Kinda fleshy though. I think he'd look better as a demon but that's just my opinion." Dipper crawled onto one of the stools at the counter and pushed his bangs out of his face. "What'll ya have?"

"You're really something else, aren't you?" he teased, resting his cheek against his hand. A crooked smile painted across his face as he stared lovingly at Bill with half-lidded eyes. "What you got?"

"Hm," Bill pondered, rubbing a hand against his nonexistent chin. He snapped his fingers and a portal appeared beside him; it swirled and out through it wriggled a few tentacles but Bill still reached in, rummaging around through it until he pulled out what looked like a banana sunday except that the ice cream was replaced by a giant snail whose body seemed to be composed of pistachio ice cream and his shell out of a giant lollipop. And where those twizzlers for eyes? "How about some escargice-cream from dimension fourty seven apostrophe backslash?" Ugh, and it was still moving. One of the eyes drew back into its body as it looked at Dipper. Gross.

"Uh, I think I'll pass. Got anything a little less...y'know, alive?"

"Picky, picky. Alright what about..." he reached his hand in again and was nearly dragged into the portal by whatever was on the other side. Jerking his arm back, he put his feet on the edges of the portal and pulled hard until it finally came out, throwing him back onto the ground. He jumped back upright and set a plate out with what looked like mud and rocks and out of it was a flower that was making snapping noises. Dipper leaned back in his seat to avoid its jaws. "Snapdragon surprise!" He put a hand to the side of where his mouth would be, "the surprise is that it eats you first!" Well that made his stomach turn upside down. "This is considered a delicacy in dimension asterisk hyphen twenty eight, where the gelatinous plasma people are eaten by it and then cause an astronomical implosion that turns themselves inside out and puts them back on the outside of the plant where it's then inside _their_ stomachs. Very exclusive stuff. You'd need a lot of gold to buy this! But instead here I am, giving it to you. Enjoy!"

"Um...that's not less alive."

"Don't tell me you're not going to eat this either. What about the rocks? Do humans eat rocks?"

"Not exactly."

"Not even if they're sauteed in a little mud?"

"Bill, I appreciate it, I really do, but maybe just something simple would be enough. Man, I'd kill for a-"

His sentence was cut short by Bill snapping his fingers and materializing a peanut butter and banana sandwich right before him.

"Done. Now, about that kill..."

"It's a figure of speech. Besides, do you really think I'm capable of killing a guy?"

"Well, he's not a _guy_ per se, more like an ogre."

"I'll catch a rain check on that," he said through a mouth sticky with peanut butter and banana. "I would kind of rather be spending the day with you, to be honest."

A feint blush came over Bill and he tapped his fingers on the counter top, averting his eyes from the other.

"Yeah, well...the feeling's mutual, kid."

Dipper swallowed and smiled at him, resting his cheek on his hand again. His eyes locked on Bill in a gaze of affection as the demon fabricated an ice cream float made with pitt soda and slid of across the counter to him. This whole new side of Bill was unlike any mystery he could have expected to find in the forest. It captivated him.

"So, there are other dimensions besides ours?"

...

They went on like that for hours. Delighting in each others quirks and poking fun at each other, pressing buttons and getting on each other's nerves, but nothing ever felt so right to either of them. They had become close and content with each other. Bill seemed to have no hesitance explaining to Dipper the secrets of the mysteries he'd come across, and Dipper never once had even the slightest feeling that Bill might be lying to him or leading him to death. It was bliss.

The world had grown dark, the sun had long since set and neither of them had any intent of returning home. Walking hand in hand through the trees and gazing fondly at each other, Bill set the mood by creating small glowing orbs of blue light that circled above them, following them along through the woods and illuminating the scene. In the back of Dipper's mind, he wondered if they had been wondering souls, but he shrugged it off. That was just Bill's way. And he had come to love that about him. Through the trees, the forest hummed a song. Each note made Dipper's heart feel warm and at ease. The rustling of the leaves, the crickets chirping in the sleepy grass, even the moon's lullaby all harmonized at once. And in that moment, the whole world around them seemed to disappear.

"You know, if other demons knew I was being this benevolent to a human, they'd say I've gone soft. Make fun of me, probably have me ripped from existence as we know it," he said, twirling his hand as if it were no big deal. "But I think I'm okay with that, actually. It's worth it."

"You're insane to be okay with that," Dipper chuckled. Bill moved around to hover in front of his date as they walked, meeting his heartfelt gaze.

"Do you want to know why I'm insane?" he asked, taking both of Dipper's hands in his and swinging them rhythmically to the soft melody of the forest. "Believe it or not, there's a pretty good reason." Dipper squeezed lightly on his hands in return, making a swift turn so that they swapped positions and he was walking backwards while Bill moved forward.

"Enlighten me."

"It's because of you."

"Oh really?" he snickered.

"Well, because of humans like you. Ones who I've taken pity on and...perhaps even got a bit closer than I should have." Dipper's smile fell. "They all die eventually. And here I am, immortal. I live forever, Dipper, I've had to watch every single mortal I've ever cared about-human or not-get old or sick or injured and die. It starts to take its tole after a few thousand years, you know? And after a while," he shrugged and cast his gaze to the ground, "I just sort of got used to it."

"Bill..." Dipper muttered, unsure of what else to say. He hoped the sorrow in his eyes would say enough.

"That's why I'm okay with this, Pine Tree. History repeats itself. You'll die, I'll lose another piece of my sanity, and move on. Maybe I'll get found out and have my existence terminated, who knows? But I've accepted this."

"...You used my name," he finally was able to squeeze out. Bill squinted at him.

"Were you even listening?"

"Wh-yes!" he said, nodding. "It's just that...you've never called me by my name before. It's nice." He offered a nervous smile. Bill kept a glare on him for a few moments longer before snaking an arm around Dipper's body and coiling it tight as rope. With a quick jerk, he sent the boy spinning. And as soon as he retracted his arm, he used it to catch him just before he tumbled backwards and hit the ground. The opportunity was open; he pressed his lipless face to Dipper's mouth and closed his eye. Dipper stared up wide eyed at the gesture. Amazing. He smiled into the kiss and wrapped his arms around the demon.

They could have stayed like that forever and never parted, keeping in each other's embrace for eternity, but a light rain put a stop to that. Bummer.

Dipper pulled back and put his hands over his head.

"Stupid rain," he grumbled. Bill waved it off and summoned his cane.

"Not a problem. Leave it to me, Pine Tree." He flipped his cane upside down and out from the straight end popped an array of wires that quickly strung together with a translucent pink material and handed it to Dipper. The younger smiled as he took it and offered his other hand to Bill, who managed to successfully take it without igniting his hand in flames. "I think I'm finally used to this hand-holding thing."

The rain started to come down harder as they made their way through the forest back to the mystery shack and as Dipper was looking up at the umbrella, a his stomach dropped.

"Is...is this made out of human skin?"

"Sure is! Hand crafted! Literally. It's made from hands."

"Bill!"

"Thought I'd give you a _hand_ and get you out of the rain!" he blurted as his laughter rang through the trees. Dipper shot him a glare. "I've gotta _hand_ it to you, Pine Tree, it's a good look on you!"

Dipper slapped a hand to his forehead and shook his head.

"Give it up, kid, you gotta love me."

It felt weird to hear Bill say that. But it was true. He was having a hard time fighting his feelings after everything that had happened, all the times Bill had protected him and all the help he'd been. He could have never prepared for this, but he wondered if it was possible to love Bill Cipher _and_ have all the answers to the journal.

And he hoped.

That maybe,

Just maybe,

He could do both.


	7. Advanced Linguistics

"Say Bill," Dipper began as he pushed open the door to the Mystery Shack, holding it open for Bill to go first, "why do you wear the jar containing my soul around your…body?"

"It's called ' _style_ '–look it up some time," Bill replied as he passed, giving the other a glare brimming with sass.

"Come on, I'm serious! Shouldn't you have eaten it like a long time ago?"

"First of all, demons eating souls is a myth usually not practiced," Bill explained, following Dipper into the kitchen. "I mean, there are some exceptions for the oddball demon, but that's a huge stereotype. Second of all, I prefer my souls _aged_ before eating them and yours is barely a decade old (the best souls tend to be the ones left to wander purgatory for many centuries. If you reach millenniums, you've gone too far.)" Dipper smiled as he poured himself a glass of Mabel Juice that his sister had made fresh before they fought the tangle. He pulled up a chair at the table and rested his chin in his hands, sipping on the glittery drink with a dreamy gaze in his eyes. He and Bill clearly had weirdness in common and that's really all he could have asked for in a relationship. "And third, I like your soul. It's blue and that matches my hellfire flames, don't you think?" Bill boasted flamboyantly, igniting his hand for comparison. Before Dipper had the chance to respond, Bill continued. "Oh right, you're colour blind–you wouldn't know bismuth from bronze," he shrugged and extinguished the fire.

"Speaking of which, how do you know I can't see colour? Do souls have an effect on colour vision?"

"Uh, duh. Geez, I thought you were the smart twin, why with all the questions? You're just like Shooting Star." Bill sat opposite of Dipper, hovering above the seat of the chair so that he was eye-level with the other.

"I like hearing you talk," he admitted. "You know pretty much everything, and I mean, _wow_ dude, listening to you explain things is straight up fascinating!" The smile on Dipper's face grew wide and he let out a small squeak of excitement. "Sure I guess I could figure things out on my own but I just…sorta like it better coming from you."

"Well, it's been fun, kid, I've gotta admit," Bill said with uneasy acceptance. There was no denying the warm, soft feeling at his core for Dipper. Pine Tree was his now and if he wanted to spoil the kid, then really what harm could it do? After all, he already had his most precious possession and could rip his conscious away at any time if he wanted to so it couldn't really be that big of a deal. "A big step up from spending my weekends changing intestines to snakes." But still, there was the nagging feeling in the back of the demon's mind where knew he was setting himself up for disappointment. He had accepted Dipper's impending death, but there were further consequences he knew he would be facing quite sooner down the road. "And that's a pretty good time, if I do say so myself."

"What do you do on the weekdays?" Dipper asked, glancing away and then back to Bill with a look of worry.

"Glad you asked! Usually I'm making deals with unsuspecting kids desperate for answers. Or mixing hydrogen fluoride into people's bathwater, whichever comes first."

"Wow, rude," Dipper grumbled and took a sip of his juice.

"You think you're the only brainiac kid who's obsessed with mystery? Pfft, I once knew this six-fingered freak dumb enough to open a portal directly into my home dimension. Hm, I guess he was a bit older than you, though, come to think of it," Bill reminisced. "It's been like thirty years and I haven't been back since. Got out of there the first chance I got," Bill declared, slamming a fist down on the table and casting his glare out the window. A hateful surge of red flared up in him and then quickly dissipated, regaining his guise of composure. "There's havoc to be wreaked elsewhere besides that boring place," he promptly added. "So I don't know, he's probably dead or something. Maybe his eyes boiled out of their sockets or his brain disintegrated the moment he came through. Humans need their brains to live, right?"

"Yeah," Dipper said after a moment of hesitance. He awkwardly sipped at his drink and avoided looking at the demon. Bill seemed somewhat sullen, like he was putting up a front. A quiet hum bubbled up in Dipper's throat, the gears in his head turning until they finally clicked. "Hey um, do you want a drink? Can I get you something? I sorta forgot to ask when I was ge–"

In an instant, Bill produced a shaker, various types of alcohol, and…a disembodied, screaming infant head? Dipper squinted and watched in astonishment as Bill waved a hand, compelling each bottle to empty into the shaker, and held the crying baby head–by its thin layer of hair–over the opening for its river of tears to cascade down into the drink. He then used his magic to shake the mixture in the air next to him while in his hands, the flesh of the baby head seemed to disintegrate into small bead-like bubbles that garnished the rim of the margarita glass he spawned. They sat in a wordless silence while the ice rattled in the shaker. When Bill deemed it done, he unscrewed the container manually, filled the glass to its brim, and immediately poured it straight into his eye.

Dipper chewed his bottom lip, pondering whether or not to question Bill's methods. Curiosity got the best of him.

"A baby head?"

"I'm having children's tears on the rocks," the demon said, setting his glass back down and refilling it. He had an agitated air about him, but maybe it was just the way he was glowering vacantly at the table with one cantaloupe-sized, bloodshot eye. Or the way he snapped his fingers and lit the drink on fire before imbibing another brimming glass.

"And…demolecularizing it?"

"It's a metaphor," Bill hissed, "for what I'd like to do to that obese, bombastic, diaper-wearing tyrant, Time Baby! I mean, what's the point of being the last of an extinct race of time giants if you don't even have object permanence and get distracted by jingling keys?" He reproduced a scaled model of Time Baby before them both in the center of the table and glared at it. "He thinks he's so great," he raised his voice, throwing his arms into the air angrily, "just because he rules the future and is the last time giant to exist? Time is a stupid linear concept that's completely obsolete and inaccurate. Dumb kid knows it's more of a fashion trend in the future than anything else." Bill slammed both fists down on the table and stood up in his chair. "The whole reason the time giants are extinct is because natural selection weeded them out like the pathetic race they were."

A light bulb went off in Dipper's head and he retrieved the journal from where it was tucked away inside his vest. He clicked his pen and flipped open to the first blank page, which was _way_ in the back after their date that evening. Maybe if all went well, he'd be able to start a new journal–his own journal. Wow, that would be cool.

The pen smoothed swiftly across the paper as Bill continued to rant, jotting down notes about Time Baby and the extinct time giants race.

"And you know something else?" Bill asked rhetorically as he was filling up another margarita from the shaker, "those other jerks would be lucky to be on good terms with me! Especially Kryptos. Molecular disassembly would be too good for that five-pointed, polychromatic, ostentatious windbag! If I could get my hands on him, I'd make him into a pentagonal, polygon cone and serve him at children's parties with a lethal dose of sodium chloride!" Bill shouted and downed another full drink in his rage. His fourth glass was poured a bit messily, some of the liquid splashing out onto the table and dripping to the floor. "They don't know who they're messing with. I've got big plans coming and they won't kick me around anymore once they see what I'm capable of. I'll have them rue the days they used to call me 'soul muncher' and 'flesh fucker'."

Dipper's writing slowed to a stop. He moved his gaze up to the tipsy triangle sitting across from him, spilling another margarita into his eye. A cold feeling knotted up in his belly. Bill was starting to be even more loose lipped than he was expecting. This was straight past 'answers' and right into 'deeply personal', which went without saying, made Dipper highly uncomfortable and admittedly a bit sympathetic.

"They called you names?" he asked softly, dropping his shoulders and sitting back in his chair. Bill wiped his eyelid and shrugged.

"Told ya, kid, demons don't eat souls. Most don't, anyway."

"And, flesh…the flesh one?"

"Humans," Bill stated, circling a finger around the rim of his glass listlessly. "They know I've got a thing for 'em." Dipper's eyes fell to his half-written page about Bill's secrets. "In your species, it'd be the same as screwing a rabid stray dog of the same sex–not exactly the most idolized thing." The boy let out a sigh and cast his eyes to the floor, shutting the journal and tucking it away again. He couldn't bear to look back at Bill.

"I guess we're the same then," Dipper mumbled.

"Whoa whoa, too much information, Pines!" Bill scrambled to cover his imaginary ears.

"No! Not about the dog, Bill, I'm serious!" Dipper snapped, pointing dagger eyes at the other. "I mean…about having feelings for someone outside your species," he confided. Bill was struck speechless, staring in bewilderment at the child rubbing his arm and hiding beneath his hat. "When I summoned you, I just wanted one thing. But after everything we've done together," he said, rubbing the back of his neck and shifting his eyes back up to meet Bill's, "I can't say my motives haven't changed."

"Pine Tree…" Bill squinted in disbelief. He took a swig from his drink and wiped his eye, staring with astonishment and maybe a little bit of hope at Dipper. "That's gay," he finally said with a self-amused smile in his eye. Dipper scowled and chucked his hat across the table at Bill, hitting him dead in the face and causing him to fall out of his chair into the floor. Bill was howling with laughter and Dipper just groaned.

"I changed my mind; you're the worst!" he grumbled, crossing his arms and slumping in his chair. Bill jumped back into the air and split into five smaller versions of himself, circling around Dipper's head.

"Aw,"

"Come on–"

"Pine Tree."

"Ya gotta–"

"Love me!"

"Stop!" Dipper swatted at the flock of Bills and covered his face with both hands.

"You humans–"

"Like swarms of things,"

"Right?"

Dipper slipped from his chair, under the table, and emerged on the adjacent side where he crawled out into the middle of the floor and stood with arms crossed, staring grumpily at the swarm of demons (…or demon?) Bill reassembled to his default form and hovered with a goofy expression across his face, arms dangling in front of himself and top hat crooked on his head. He was drunk.

Which, actually, wasn't much different from being sober.

"Pine Tree," he said again, moving closer to the kid and putting both hands on his shoulders. Dipper leaned away awkwardly from him. He smelled like liquor; it was both parts intoxicating and revolting. He blinked and flicked his eyes between Bill and the door. Then, Bill went upright as a ringing sound came from his bow tie. He stretched open a pouch from himself similar to that of a kangaroo and pulled a _really_ old fashioned cell phone out.

"Y'ello?" he answered. Dipper stood frozen in place, still eying the door and contemplating his chances of making it out alive. Bill laughed into the phone and then made an agreeing noise before hanging up and dissolving the phone to ashes on the spot. He stared at Dipper happily without a word until the kid was finally made uncomfortable enough to ask about the caller.

"Who was that?"

"Myself. I was just letting me know that I'm ready to fulfill my end of our deal!"

"You–I…what?" Dipper stammered, dropping his arms and raising an eyebrow. "But I thought you said–"

"Fuck the other demons," Bill growled, seizing the collar of Dipper's shirt in his hands and jerking him in for a sudden kiss. When he pulled back, Dipper could see the fire blazing in his eye. It sent a chill down his spine. "Fuck me."

A good chill.

…

It didn't take another word before Dipper was locked in a fierce and passionate kiss with Bill, all inhibitions lost. They stumbled their way out the kitchen, nearly tripping over each other while going up the stairs, Bill's fingers curled tight in Dipper's hair and Dipper's hands exploring Bill's body in a flurry of desire. Before they even reached the bedroom door, Dipper's clothes were already being shed.

His vest went first, abandoned on the railing of the stairs where it slid off to the floor below and lay unwanted. Then, as he was reaching behind himself to find the doorknob, Bill's hands found their way underneath his thin shirt and angled to tug it off over the boy's head. Their kiss broke off for all of a nanosecond while the shirt passed over his lips before they were connected again in another ravenous make out session.

The door swung open behind them and the pressure with which Bill was forcing his body against Dipper's nearly knocked him to the ground. He stumbled back and managed to catch his balance before kicking the door shut behind them. Too lost in Bill's thrall to be bothered locking it, he hoped no one would come home and hear them and then decide to investigate.

When the backs of his knees hit the bed–his or Mabel's, he didn't know–he collapsed backwards, dragging Bill down with him. The fevered flesh of his back colliding with the cool sheets made his skin prickle all over and he kicked off his shoes with a slight shudder as Bill ran his thumbs over his firm nipples. His back arched and a breathy gasp escaped his lips under the demon's touch; he was warm and smooth and a little bit staticy–probably from arousal, Dipper thought. Somewhere in the midst of things, Bill had also done away with the obstructive jar containing Dipper's soul. With an obvious lack of mouth or genitalia, Bill decided to improvise. He traced his fingers all along the dips and curves in other's body, rubbing circles into his skin and adding a twist of magic to give him a little bit of zest. Tiny blooms of red surfaced across Dipper's chest in the spots where Bill dotted his magic touch, earning more stifled breaths and a bit of squirming from the other.

"Bill…" Dipper breathed as the demon began pinching and rolling the sensitive flesh between his fingers. Bill grinned internally and sent a quick pulse of mana through his skin, forcing another gasp from his pet, the sound of which made him tingle with avarice that could only be described as demonic.

His head thrown back into the mattress and a hand clenched tightly in his bangs, Dipper uttered a stream of archaic words jammed together in a rush. Bill squeezed his eye shut and moaned lowly. Pulses of light spread through his body. His aura grew more intense with each rushed word that fell from Dipper's experienced lips, the luminance brightening and dimming in waves. His hands snaked upwards to the boy's throat, coiling around it finger by finger until his grasp was tight enough that he could feel the air coursing beneath with each erratic breath he took. A flood of chills ran over Dipper at the invigorating feeling.

He recited another line of Latin from memory that Bill had taught him before, his voice breathy and weak with arousal. As he spoke, his hands shot down to his shorts where he hastily undid the button and tugged at the zipper before maneuvering out of them and kicking them across the room wherever they may land. He toed out of his socks and reached for the waistband of his underwear, but Bill stopped him before he could go any further.

Moving one hand down from his neck, Bill's hand came to a rest on the clothed bulge. He gave it a few fluid rubs, making Dipper take a breathless gasp. Opening his eye half-mast, he gazed down at the kid panting heavily beneath him; waiting, wanting, craving his mercy. If Bill had lips, he would have licked them at the sight. It was delicious–his Pine Tree quite literally _pining_ for him–and he couldn't help but to glide his hands down the boy's stomach, making his way lower and moving back until he was sitting just before Dipper's growing erection. Dipper rolled his head to the side, watching with lust-filled eyes as Bill palmed the hardening growth.

The world felt like a dream, like he was drifting indefinitely though a weightless vacuum. Dipper's head felt empty and light. His nerves were hypersensitive to everything Bill was doing. Each touch felt surreal, hypnotic.

Bill took hold of the waistband, tugging slowly downward. _What a tease_ , Dipper thought, but Bill had only meant to savour the sight of the slow reveal; of Dipper's now fully hard cock springing free into the cool air. The feeling made the boy shudder. Bill discarded the garment somewhere behind him, dropping it to the floor without a care, and marveled at the erection before him. He wrapped his fingers around the base and lazily dragged his hand up and down. Dipper let out a soft moan and shifted around slightly in the bed. A thought crossed the demon. He inspected his hand for a brief moment before deciding to lubricate it via magic influence. Another smooth motion over the boy's cock made Dipper buck up into his hand, his whole body jerking shakily. He breathed out a sigh and reached a hand down to caress Bill.

Which made the demon jump. Dipper's hand landed softly on Bill's side, sliding gently down his edge, and Bill arched into his touch. His core flushed over and a minute whimper managed to escape him. Pausing his movement, Dipper chuckled at Bill's reaction to his touch.

"Are your sides sensitive?" he asked with a smug grin. Bill cast his eye away shyly. If he hadn't been as drunk as he was, he may have snapped back at the boy with an obvious and snarky remark, but Dipper felt empowered by the lack of response and ran his thumb down Bill's side again. Bill shivered, resting a hand of his own over Dipper's. His hand was trembling, Dipper noticed. The demon visibly took a breath, despite not needing to breathe, and moved Dipper's hand himself. Seeing Bill shiver and blush as he pleasured himself with Dipper's hand made the boy's cock twitch. He let out a faint gasp and used his other hand to stroke himself.

"Ah–Pine Tree!" Bill choked out as Dipper's thumb brushed against one of his corners. A light bulb went off in Dipper's head and he lit up with a grin, taking control and gently gripping Bill's corner. He gave it a soft squeeze and the sound Bill made was…well, Dipper didn't think there was a sweeter sound in all the universe. It compelled him to do it again. He sat up and pulled Bill in close, pressing him up against his torso, and pinched both of Bill's lower corners between his indexes and thumbs.

There was that sound again. So desperate and pleasured. It sounded nothing like Bill, more like an inhuman shriek, demonic, but at the same time it was clear that Bill liked it. His mind had blanked and his humanistic facade cracked, allowing a bit of his true self to bleed through. As Dipper continually rubbed Bill's vertices, drawing more and more sounds out of him, Bill began to lose control of his magic. His body became translucent, then–what Dipper could only assume based on the multiple hues of grey–he cycled through an assortment of colours. A variety of pictures, probably memories, then flashed over his body. Surprisingly, a lot of them were of Dipper. Sleeping, playing with Mabel, watching TV, singing in the mirror, getting…changed, having dinner, Bill was always watching and it seemed he was very enamored with him. Dipper smiled. He leaned forward and rested his chin against the demon.

Bill gazed down at the erection pressed to his body. He could feel it twitch against him with every sound he made. Gingerly, he reached both hands in front of himself and took hold of it. Dipper let out a small gasp as Bill slid his hands along the shaft. In return, Dipper gave another light squeeze to Bill's corners. And then squeaked as Bill's body began to vibrate.

It was faint but definitely there. Dipper clapped a hand over his mouth, embarrassed at the noise he made, but his back was arching and he was trembling. The feeling that shot through him was like ice and ran over his being from head to toe.

"Ah!" he gasped, squeezing Bill tighter than he had meant to. Bill squeezed back, his body tensing.

"Pine Tree," he rasped. Dipper glanced down at him with teeth grit. "Say more," he pleaded, relaxing against the other's chest again. A bit afraid to open his mouth in fear that something embarrassing might come out again, Dipper scoured his hazy mind for more Latin. When he finally found it, he opened his mouth to speak and sure enough another pleasured groan came out. His face flushed over, but he didn't let it stop him from speaking the phrases for Bill. Word by word, he ground out filthy commands impaired by his moaning. Bill's inadvertent vibrations became stronger as he progressed. The language combined with Dipper's moaning and stimulation on his corners was ruining him.

When Dipper finished the second line, Bill stopped him, placing a palm flat against his chest.

"Kid…" he breathed hoarsely, "lay back." Dipper did as he was told and relaxed back into the bed once again. Unable to hover due to his loss of control on his magic, Bill scooted back off of Dipper on his knees. He got between the boy's legs and lifted them up. "Hold them," he ordered. Dipper did, locking his hands underneath his knees. He watched Bill from over his heaving chest. The demon had one hand on his cock and the other on his own vertex. After a few moments of stroking, the hand on his corner abandoned its post and pressed a slick finger to Dipper's entrance. Dipper let out a small whimper. "Is this okay?" Bill asked, surprisingly considerate.

"Y-Yeah," Dipper exhaled, nodding his head (not that Bill was paying attention to anywhere above his waist). With consent given, Bill let his finger gently slip inside. A spark of pleasure coursed through Dipper and he abruptly spat a rush of Latin, tightening around Bill's finger and bowing his back.

Somewhere in the background of Bill's moaning, a succession of thuds made Dipper jump out of his skin. He hastily propped himself up on his hands to see that some books had fallen off the bookshelf across the room (he also noted that, thank god, he was in his own bed and not Mabel's). Confused and curious, he looked down at Bill who had his eye shut and was still a mess of colours, images, vibrations, and moans. A thought crossed him and he decided to test something.

Speaking another line of Latin phrases in an intentionally seductive voice, he watched as a cup containing his writing pens mysteriously tipped over and a waterfall of them crashed against the ground. He spoke again, reaching down to rub against one of Bill's corners. Bill moaned loud and this time, the lights in the room flickered on and off. Bill's magic was going awry. He was too drunk and too pleasured to control it. Dipper started to grin and say another stream of words, but was caught off guard by Bill's finger curling inside him. He collapsed back into the bed, squirming and moaning louder and louder as Bill moved his finger in and out. The demon stroked his cock in time with the smooth motions. After a moment he decided to add in another finger into him. He had Dipper mewling and writhing under his touch, completely wrapped around his finger.

But Bill wasn't done.

A void space opened up at his core and a slew of black tendrils slithered out. Wriggling in each direction, a pair of them reached out to grasp Dipper's cock. The boy jumped and tried to sit up, but another of the tendrils coiled around his throat and forced him down. It throbbed against his throat, sending shivers of pleasure down his spine. He bucked his hips into the touch of the ones at his groin as another pair wrapped around each wrist, pinning him to the bed. A gurgled moan bubbled up from his throat as the tendril wrapped around his neck slithered into his mouth and down his throat, stretching it wider.

Bill mused at the sight. Finally, he removed his fingers from inside the kid, making Dipper shudder, and quickly replaced the emptiness with another tentacle, the thickness of which tore a moan so loud from Dipper that it could have woke the dead. His entire body convulsed, seizing up and–the tendril around his cock wrapped tighter, almost hurting.

"I'm not quite done with you," Bill said, "you can't come yet." Dipper whined around the tentacle in his mouth in protest. "Don't worry, just a little bit longer. You look great, kid…just so you know." Dipper's toes curled; he felt a bit shy on display like that.

Both his hands free, Bill began stroking himself. Gliding all up and down his sides, he watched as Pine Tree was pleasured at his will; his holes filled, pinned down, strangling for breath, red in the face–in all Bill's time, he wasn't sure there was a more glorious display than this.

Suddenly, Dipper bit down on the tentacle in his mouth. Bill sharply retracted it from his mouth in pain and the moment he did, Dipper blurted out a long, unending verse of the filthy Latin that made Bill so hot. Books, papers, pens, stuffed animals–all kinds of random items in the room began swirling around the room in the air. Pictures on the wall shook, the window panes rattled, an incredible mess was made. Before his very eyes, Dipper watched as Bill pulsed brighter and brighter, flashing through a wide array of visuals, before he started to come apart piece by piece. Dipper's jaw dropped open momentarily before he regained his composure and continued reading from memory. His eyes were wide with awe; Bill's bricks split apart, leaving only a semblance of his former shape behind. He was moaning loud and digging his nails into Dipper's thighs, making Dipper ache even harder with the need to come. Each piece of the demon, aside from the piece containing his eye, began spinning independently as if they each had a mind of their own. Which, actually, wouldn't be the least thing possible considering it was Bill Cipher.

Finally, he could stand it no more. Dipper needed to come. Watching Bill come _literally_ undone like that was too much to bear. He swallowed hard and commanded in a powerful voice, "Bill Cipher, _expletio_!"

The room burned a searing white as Bill's hellfire enveloped them both, sending a tidal wave of a hot static coursing through Dipper's entire being. The tendrils around his throat and wrists tightened, the one inside him pushing in deeper and stiffening up. He bit his lip and desperately worked to free one wrist. Unable to peel it off, he strained against the force, managing to reach down to his cock and give it a few last strokes that pushed him over the edge and released the torrent of pressure that had welled up inside him.

The light faded. Bill's minced form crumbled to the floor, pieces of his body spilling everywhere in disarray. Dipper panted hard, his head dizzy and body limp with rapture. Neither one spoke, both too busy bathing in the afterglow of their sex. It was simple. It was bliss.

…

Dipper was the first to come to, sitting up with a jerk as a knock came to his door. Some more of Bill's pieces were nudged off the bed by the movement.

"Dipper," Grunkle Stan's voice sounded. Terror surged throughout Dipper when he remembered that he hadn't locked the door behind them.

"Don't come in!" he reflexively shouted, scrambling to cover himself with a mess of blankets. Bill's eye opened halfway, watching the door lazily without a care. It didn't matter to him whether or not he was seen like this, he was too hungover to give a damn. Glancing at the clock on his nightstand, Dipper realized he and Bill had fallen asleep where they finished and it was now early the next morning. Stan was probably wondering why he hadn't gotten ready for work yet. "Dang it, Bill, I slept in," he muttered quietly, not actually directing the words at the other. Bill didn't respond anyway.

"Why are your clothes scattered everywhere around the shack? We gotta open soon! Get out here and pick them up."

"Uh, in a minute! I-I'm kinda–I'm not ready yet!" he yelled back. He floundered to get out of bed, tripping over some of the bedsheets and face-planting into the floorboards. Bill snickered at his blunder and Dipper shot him a glare.

The sound of the doorknob turning made Dipper's heart just about entirely stop. In a last-minute panic to hide the scene, he grabbed a handful of blankets and threw them over the pieced up remains of Bill's body, leaving himself mostly exposed.

His great uncle barged in and immediately shielded his eyes.

"Ah! Geez, kid, you could have said you were indecent!"

Dipper internally sighed with relief, at least he was front-side down and Bill couldn't be seen.

"I'm sorry. I tried to warn you."

"Whatever. Just get ready. We're open in twenty minutes and Mabel's not here, so you gotta fill her spot," he said as he turned and slammed the door shut.

Crisis averted.

He untensed and dropped his head, mumbling into the floorboards about what an idiot he was.

"Cheer up, Pine Tree," Bill said, pushing the covers out of his face, "you just had the time of your life! And you didn't get caught." Dipper frowned. "I don't know about you, but I feel pretty great right now! Besides this hangover anyway."

"Bill, you should go."

"Rude." Out of thin air, Bill spawned a pine cone and hit Dipper in the face with it.

"Ow! Dude, what the heck?"

"Now you are pregnate!"

"Pregnant–what?" he examined the pine cone and gave Bill a look of utter confusion. "This is a pine cone."

"And you're a pine _tree_! Pine trees grow from pine cones. And human sex ends with reproduction, right? You are pregnate."

"I…whatever. Anyway, I don't mean to be rude. It's just that I've gotta get to work or…I'd ask you to stay," he admitted with a tiny smile. Bill smiled back, moving his disembodied arm over the space where his chest would be if he was a singularity.

"How sweet, I'm touched! Well, I think you're more touched than I am," Bill laughed. Dipper rolled his eyes and shook his head lightheartedly. "Alright, Pines, I'm outta here. Let me know when you wanna see me again, I'll be looking forward to it!" His form snapped back together, making him whole again, and the jar returned to its rightful place around his center. He stood on his feet and walked over to Dipper. Leaning into his ear, he whispered, "Look, kid, you're important to me, okay? Just remember that." Then, he lept back, pointed finger guns at him, chimed "later, sucker!" and vanished.

The deal was finally done and by the look of it, he had Bill exactly where he wanted him. It was somewhat of a relief, but he couldn't help being a bit sad that the main event was over. Still, now that he had Bill wrapped around his finger, he had hope that there would more in the future. And he wanted that. Bill had become important to him too.

Sighing, he picked himself up off the floor, scratched at the release that had dried on his belly overnight, grabbed a fresh set of clothes, and headed for the shower.


	8. Nightmares Without Insurance

The shack was once again filled with laughter and optimism. Mabel had come home the day before. She'd run through the house bouncing off the walls and screaming excitedly about her new vampire boyfriend. Dipper couldn't help but roll his eyes when she hung her hand-made frame with his number, written on a napkin and glued right in the middle, on the wall right above her headboard. It was a very Mabel thing to do and honestly, he missed it more than he was going to let on, but it was a lot. She was happy and despite her overkill, he wouldn't have had it any other way. Besides - he looked over to the bunyip head sitting on his nightstand and smiled, a light blush coming to his cheeks - he had little room to speak.

Today, they were laying head-to-foot across the couch and watching the first installment of 'Believe in Yourself' at Mabel's request. Dipper didn't have any reason to argue, he was just glad to have his sister back home. He reached an arm around her and pulled her into a tight hug, which seemed out of nowhere to Mabel. The girl stuck out her tongue and made a bleating noise until he let go and then she laughed and ruffled his hair in response.

"What's up, bro-bro?" she said after pausing the movie.

"It's nice to have you back," he admitted, casting his eyes to the ceiling which was suddenly more interesting.

"Yeah, but I'm gonna miss seeing Edwin every day." Dipper shook his head.

"I know," he grunted. There was a pause where Dipper flicked his eyes back to his sister's and furrowed his brow in thought before he spoke again. "But taking on that demon was a bad idea without some sort of back up plan. I mean, you got seriously hurt, don't you think that was kind of a wake up call?"

"Aw come on," Mabel chuckled, "it wasn't that bad."

"Mabel, you could have died back there!"

Dropping her cheerful demeanor, Mabel sat up in her spot and frowned at him. "Dipper, you could have died. We could have died fighting Gideon, we could have died fighting Bill - none of what the Mystery Twins do is ever safe! Why are you making a big deal about this now?"

"I guess because this time, you actually really did get hurt. Mabel, I supposed to protect you and I failed at that. I can't let that happen again, I can't lose you. What do you say we get a little insurance?"

"What kind of insurance do you mean? You're not thinking of making a deal with Bill, are you? You know how he tricked you la-"

"Yes," Dipper cut in snappily, stabbing her with an icy glare. His sharp tone made Mabel jump. She stared wide-eyed at him and blinked with surprise. "I _know_ how he tricked me last time," he grumbled, "but I'm not going to make a deal with Bill for this. I'll look into another demon. But we have to make sure this doesn't happen again." He hesitated before continuing. "Because next time… next time you might not make it back alive."

Mabel's face dropped, the realization hitting her like a brick. Dipper had to turn his attention away from the look of shock, horror, and sadness in her eyes. She stared at him for a few moments before looking down at her brother's fidgeting hands and heaving a sigh.

"But what about you? You'll get protection for both of us, right? I don't wanna lose you either," she said, lowering her voice and taking her brother's hands in her own, but Dipper still didn't look back at her.

"I'll be fine, I promise."

"But Dipper–!"

"–Just… trust me, okay?" He glanced down at his arms where the scars from the protection runes he carved for Bill's summoning had healed over and left feint discolouration in their place. "I'll be fine." Mabel squeezed his hands, giving a short breath of relief. Her trusting nature was a blessing at times like this, he wouldn't have to explain himself. Where would he even start if he did? He for sure would have to exempt the… explicit details.

Eventually, he looked back up to his sister who was giving him a tiny reassuring smile, which he then returned, before Mabel blurted out "awkward sibling hug!" and jerked him into a suffocating embrace. After the initial surprise, he quickly hugged her back and chuckled.

They shared a smile and Mabel unpaused the movie.

…

Later that very night, Dipper's bed was empty. Shadows crept along the walls as the silhouette of a young boy obscured the moonbeams streaming through the windows. He stealthed through the house, tip-toeing down the stairs and out the back door. With Mabel home again, he didn't want to risk her finding out what was going on between them. Whether or not she could see Bill was irrelevant, he needed to keep their relationship private, especially after her remark earlier. It was obvious to him that she still believed Bill was their enemy.

Once he was outside, Dipper released the breath he didn't realize he was holding and readjusted his vest. He reached inside to make double-sure he'd brought the journal, straightening out his back when he touched it, and set off into the forest.

After a bit of walking, he settled down in a small area and went to fix his hair. A light blush fell over his face along with a little smile. He brushed some stray hairs back into place, made sure his hat was on straight, and checked over his outfit before snatching a sharp rock off the forest floor and etching a triangle into the bark of a redwood. As he drew the eye, he felt his heart thump in his chest and body tingle with anticipation.

"Bill?" he said, rubbing the back of his head and staring at the ground. Butterflies fluttered in his belly, his smile widened to a grin. "I'd like to see you again, i-if you're not busy or anything." His thumbs twiddled as he stepped back from the carving to give the demon a little space to come through. It caught him by surprise when Bill darted out, grabbing his face with both hands, and pressed against his lips for a kiss. It nearly knocked him backwards off his feet; as he stumbled to catch himself, his hands wrapped around the demon's body and pulled him closer. Bill's body was so warm.

It felt like home.

It made everything alright.

They didn't speak for a few drawn out moments, relishing in each other's presence and embrace. Dipper smiled into the connection. The kiss tasted like love.

Bill was the one to break away first. He gazed at Dipper with a happiness that was unlike any he'd ever worn. It was practically hypnotic, Dipper thought as he gazed back.

"I gotta admit, kid, I was sorta waiting for you," he chimed, threading his fingers between Dipper's.

"Oh yeah?" Dipper smiled, feeling another thump in his chest.

"Well, I gotta keep myself busy, but the moment I heard your voice I dropped everything and jumped right into your dimension," he said, extending his arms excitedly. "That lady is probably not going to be too happy that I left her husband half-resurrected. But what do I care? I've got places to be. Zombies aren't so bad once they devour your brain. Then you can't feel the pain as they shred open your insides for the main course!"

Dipper shook his head and rolled his eyes - there was no changing Bill, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

"You're really something else, Bill," he laughed.

"She said she wanted her husband 'alive again' and he technically is, so I held up my end. I don't see the problem there," the demon shrugged smugly.

"Yeah, well… anyways, there's sort of something I wanted to ask you."

"Shoot," said Bill as he reclined back into the air and floated in circles around Dipper's head.

"It's about Mabel. You see, she came home the other day - which I'm sure you already knew - and… I don't know, I'm kinda worried about her. I don't want something like that to ever happen again to her, you know? I've got you protecting me, but what about her?"

"I can watch Shooting Star too, no problem," he replied simply, spawning his cane and twirling it in his fingers.

"I don't know, man… it's just-" he rubbed the back of his head and stuffed his other hand in his pocket, "she doesn't trust you, and I don't think she would understand - you know… _us_."

Bill stopped in front of him again and straightened up.

"She's gonna have to find out sooner or later, Pine Tree, and she'll have to get used to me."

"I know, but it's just - not now. I'm not ready for that. She wouldn't understand, especially while she doesn't trust you. Just give me some time to ease into it, okay? For now I think we should ask-"

"Pine Tree, I'm beginning to think you're embarrassed of me," Bill interrupted, crossing his arms and strengthening a glare on him. "You knew Stan couldn't see me the other day and you still covered me up before he came in. Don't say you didn't know because I explicitly told you before that no one besides you can see me, I'm a mindscape demon."

"What? No! Look, Bill it's not about that, okay, I just want to get protection for Ma-"

"And you know what? I got over my problems with the other demons to be with you, so I think you can grant me the same respect."

"Okay, okay, I'll tell Mabel about us sometime next week, but right now-"

"Next week?! Do you think this is a game, Pine Tree? Because I can assure you, I am very serious right now." Bill was slowly shifting colours. A shadowy colour that Dipper identified as red was beginning to come over him.

"No, okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean make you think I'm ashamed of you. I swear it's not about that."

"Then what is it about, huh?"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Dipper shouted. He realized he'd raised his voice when Bill squinted at him even harder and quickly tried to redeem himself by lowering it again and running a hand through his bangs. "I'm sorry. I'm just worried about Mabel, okay?"

"I said I'd watch the brat, so what's your next excuse?"

Dipper took a deep breath to calm his nerves before continuing, "I want to get a different demon to protect her." He immediately regretted saying that, however, because Bill's entire body ignited in tongues of flame. Strangely enough, though, he didn't act on his obvious rage and instead continued staring down at the kid.

"Alright, and what do you suggest? Not many demons have influence on your world like I do, and even still I need a body to do anything worthwhile." Dipper pulled out the journal from where it was tucked away in his vest and flipped open to a page depicting a menacing looking demon with horns like a ram and morning stars dangling from cuffs around its arms; instead of hands were claws and its body was like smoke. He pointed at the image for Bill.

"I read here that the demon Bartemaus is one of the most powerful and feared demons, but his summoning ritual is too complex for even me. Plus, it says he doesn't take too kindly to… 'whimpy' looking summoners," he grumbled at the last bit and bit the inside of his cheek. "So I thought maybe you could help me out and vouch for me."

For an awkwardly long time, Bill was silent. His flame extinguished and he dropped his arms, staring at Dipper with a look of disbelief. Finally, Dipper was unable to stand the silence and questioned him. Bill lowered to be level with Dipper's eyes. He was uncomfortably close - which was something Dipper never thought he'd have to say about Bill again.

"You're asking me to go back to my dimension and ask one of the very demons that had their fun making my existence miserable to do a job that I could do myself for a fleshbag I honestly couldn't care less about? Are you fucking kidding me right now? Because there's no way you're serious."

Dipper was speechless. His face paled and his stomach dropped clear to his feet. The night had suddenly become terrifyingly silent as if Bill's anger had caused every animal and insect to drop dead all at once. The very trees themselves seemed shocked at the exchange.

"You can't even answer me. I don't believe this." Bill threw his arms up and turned away. His hands balled into fists and he grounded, tapping his foot aggrivatedly on the forest floor. "Pine Tree, I've been alive a long fucking time and this is single-handedly the most selfish thing I have ever seen in all of my existence."

"Bill, I… I'm sorry-"

"You're sorry? Oh, you're sorry - well, that just fixes everything, doesn't it? You can forget about me watching over your brat, that's for sure. Call the jerk yourself if you're so desperate for help."

With those words, a knife wrenched into Dipper's gut. His blood felt hot like he'd never felt before, his stomach was queasy like he might throw up.

How _dare_ he.

" _I'm_ selfish?" he spat, "You're willing to let my sister die all because _you_ can't face your bullies!" Bill's eye opened wide and he turned around to face the kid once again, his pupil narrow as a needle. Dipper's fists were clenched, his face was as red as a beet, and there was a fire in his eyes burning hotter than the deepest pits of hell. "You think you're an 'all knowing, all powerful' demon, but you're scared. You pick on humans because you have this desperate desire to dish out the same kind of suffering you can't stand up to yourself. You pick on us because you can't handle knowing that you're exactly what they always told you you were. You're weak and you can't even admit it. All I needed was for you to do one little thing for me - for my sister - because I'm not always strong enough to protect her. I _told_ you that she doesn't trust you and that I'm not ready to explain our relationship yet but never think of anyone but yourself. You're more ashamed of me than I am of you, you hypocrite! What the heck is wrong with you? You weren't like this before! You would do anything for me, tell me anything I wanted to know - why are you being so selfish about this now?"

Like a walking volcano, venomous words erupted from Dipper's mouth. He marched back and forth in a line, swinging his arms around wildly in his fury. Bill said nothing, didn't even move. He watched Dipper use the sharp rock he'd used to carve his image into the tree before to deface the image now, scratching lines through it and stabbing it and finally pitching the rock deep into the forest - a throw like he'd never been capable of in his life. And then he said the meanest thing he could think of, something that bubbled up in his chest and exploded from his mouth like a nuke.

"You're nothing but a nightmare!"

And when Dipper turned around to glare down at Bill again, expectant of a response…

It clicked.

Any semblance of anger that Bill had had, faded in an instance. He dropped his arms and stared silently back at the kid. Too angry to notice the flicker of emotion in Bill's eye, Dipper threw his fists down and barked "well?!" at him in attempt to pull a response - anger, indifference, defensiveness, anything - from him. But Bill remained without a word, the only indication he made that he'd even heard him was crossing his arms and furrowing his brow at him.

"Oh great, and now you're giving me the silent treatment. Just what I need - more secrets. You know, just a minute ago you were upset that I didn't answer you but now when I want a response, you can just stand there and look disappointed at me like it's no big deal. More hypocrisy!"

"I have nothing to say to you, Dipper," Bill finally said. He looked down at his palm and curled his fingers. Casting his eye away into the dark forest, he made a decision. One he wished he didn't have to make. Taking one last look at the fuming boy adjacent to him, he rolled his eye and vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Bill! Bill Cipher, get back here!" Dipper shouted. He turned to talk to the drawing on the tree but was hit with an icy reminder when he saw that it had been desecrated. He looked up to the treetops, staring at the half-moon high in the sky above him. "Bill I'm not done with you! Bill!" A chilly breeze washed over his shoulders, the leaves rustling at its passing. "Bill…" Dipper uttered, calmer. Frost formed in his blood, he shivered at the realization of what he just did. His attention turned back to the ruined carving. The longer he stared at it, tears began to form in his eyes. "Bill, I'm sorry," he said, voice barely a whisper. He rubbed an arm over his eyes, wiping the tears away. He wouldn't let them fall - there was still time to fix this, to make it up to him. Bill just… needed a little time, that's all. Yeah.

Dipper gathered himself and turned on his way back to the Mystery Shack. It was late, he needed to get some rest. Something told him, though, that he was going to be up all night.


	9. Unforeseen Consequences

Dipper laid on his back with his hands crossed over his stomach, staring up at the knotted wooden beams over his head. He watched as flies buzzed around and listened to the rustling of the trees in the warm summer winds through the open window. Mabel left it open for him to 'get some fresh air' while she hung out with Candy and Grenda.

It had been days.

He'd waited and waited, the seconds seemed to take eternity to tick by. There was no sign of Bill. Dipper had hardly moved from the spot he was in except to use the bathroom and occasionally to get yet another can of pitt soda or another mini-tub of ice cream. Mabel used every trick in the book to get him out of bed - encouragement, threats, bribery - but nothing worked. He would just roll over and put a pillow over his head, and if she tried to remove it, he would just turn back and stare at her with a chillingly empty gaze until she gave it back or left. His eyes burned with exhaustion but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't sleep longer than five minutes at a time. Part of him hoped this was Bill's doing, but he knew that if that were true, he would instead be having an endless stream of nightmares instead of insomnia.

He turned his head to the side and reviewed his desperate attempts to get Bill's attention; the walls were scratched and lined with drawings and carvings of Bill, papers scattered across the floor with his image drawn in pencil, pen, marker, highlighter - he tried anything he could get his hands on. The flurry of emotions he felt were enough to make him wish a zombie would drop by and rip his brains out.

At first he was scared - he knew he'd royally messed up and there was a looming terror that Bill would exact his revenge on him eventually, or even worse that he would never come back and it would ruin all of Dipper's hard work along with breaking his heart.

Then he was overcome with sadness - it didn't take a professional to know that Dipper was in a rut of depression. He couldn't eat and anything he tried to hold down would just come back up five minutes later. He hadn't slept more than a wink since that night and he feared he was going to die of exhaustion any moment.

But the worst of it was anger - Bill was so selfish for refusing to help him get protection for Mabel and then refusing to do it himself! Something had changed in that demon recently and whatever it was was downright infuriating. Some of the drawings Dipper had done to try calling him back were shredded up or scribbled out and, on occasion, burned. Wherever Bill had left to, he took a piece of Dipper's sanity with him. And without his guidance, the world around him seemed foggy and humid. There was nothing Dipper hated more than the unknown and Bill left him without a clue. Secrets, secrets, and more secrets.

The house shook as Dipper pounded a fist against the wall. His arm was shaking - no, his whole body was shaking. His teeth were grit and his breath cut short and stifled. Sweat beaded at his forehead and under his arms. This had gone on long enough, it was time to have a word with that hateful triangle one way or another.

He assembled every ounce of fight he had left in him and pulled himself out of bed. Still a bit wobbly on his feet, he shook off the dizziness and hunger pangs to go search for the materials needed to make a summoning alter. This time, he was going to use Bill's alter, if he had to slay Gideon to find out what it was.

Luckily, all he needed to do was ask Soos. Since the handyman had been there the day Gideon called Bill back into the world, he was able to explain, in startling detail, what he'd seen. Candles, a chalk wheel, a photo of a target with the eyes crossed out, and of course he would need to use the chant. A chill passed over his body, those words were going to taste sour in his mouth but he was ready to sacrifice an arm and a leg to talk to Bill again.

It was fortunate enough that Mabel was out all day with her friends as he wouldn't need to venture out into the forest someplace private to get this done. Once he had all the supplies (his picture of choice was one of himself), he spread everything out on the floor and began drawing the Cipher wheel that was depicted in the journal. It was somewhat sloppy in the end despite his best efforts. His dexterity was at an all-time low between the sleepless nights, unwillful starvation, and his emotional suffering. But it would have to do. He lit the candles haphazardly and ended with the one directly in front of him, then began to recite the chant.

"Triangulum entangulum," he began. The words nearly made him gag at the sheer bitterness. He felt his eyes well with tears that he fought to hold back. "Veneforis dominus ventium." This time he did gag, doubling over into the circle and clutching his stomach with an unsteady hand. He was so angry and scared and nervous and regretful, and it was like every single emotion was trying to break out of him all at once. This was worse than any kind of hell Bill or any other demon could possibly put him through - it was worse than when his soul had been pulled from his body; this pain would never go away unless he fixed this. Wiping his eyes, he sat back up and took a deep breath, speaking with a wavering break in his voice, "Veneforis venetisarium."

Miraculously, he began to feel the familiar shock of static coursing through his brain as he was overcome with an energy that took hold of him and puppeteered his body, throwing him back and forcing a stream of ciphered Latin to pour from his lips. A few everlasting moments later, there he was - Bill Cipher - in the... well, not exactly in the flesh, but there in front of him. His arms were crossed and eye cast to the wall, a clear flood of hatred burning in his gaze. He spoke not a word.

"Bill!" Dipper called out, his voice cracked with anger and sadness and relief and fear. The demon didn't acknowledge him, he continued to hover above the alter with a disgust that could have killed. "Bill, I-"

He choked on his words, unsure of what he wanted to say. Despite the countless hours he spent cursing him and sobbing over him and pleading for forgiveness, he never really thought of what to say when - if - he ever saw Bill again. He had to pause, eyes shifting between all of Bill's features - his texture, his eye, his hat, bowtie, arms, the jar containing Dipper's soul draped around his shoulders... never did any of this seem so surreal and distant. He swallowed hard and sat back on his knees.

"Bill... I'm sorry," he finally muttered, hands clenched into fists on his thighs. The brim of his hat shadowed his face as he bowed his head.

Bill said nothing. Didn't even shift his gaze.

"Bill, please. I need you. You're my clarity, I swear. You aren't a nightmare, you're the best daydream I've ever had. It's..." he gulped down a frog that had lept into his throat and released a breath, "It's magic when you're beside me. I just can't get you off my mind." Dipper knelt forward in a position of worship, his forehead resting against the floorboards. Tears began to flow down his cheeks and onto the old wooden floors. He felt like an angel with no wings, held down and bound to the Earth craving liberation to fly with his, for lack of better words, god. "I haven't eaten or showered or slept in days. I miss our talks; you would tell me anything I wanted to know. I wrote all of it down in the journal! I want... I want that back."

"Yeah, Pine Tree?" Bill finally - _finally_ \- said with a chilling calmness. Dipper snapped up at the sound of his voice, eyes bright with a spark of hope yet still saturated with tears. Bill was staring down at him, nothing but unmistakable disappointment in his eye. He continued, "Is that what you want? You want me to be your open book so you have free access to anything you want to know? Is that it? That's all you care about." Dipper's jaw dropped wide open, horror spilled like ink in his eyes. This was it, he blew it. At some point, Bill had realized his true intentions from the very beginning and now he was going to lose so much more than he'd ever thought he'd gambled for.

"No," he sputtered, scrambling to his feet frantically, "no no no no, Bill, I'm sorry! I-"

"Yeah, you are sorry. You're just another sorry fleshbag who'll do anything to get answers. Well you know what? I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I wasted my time pitying you."

"Bill, please don't do this! You mean so much more to me than any answers I could ever have. I-I didn't know you back then like I do now, it's different!"

"It is different. You could have told me the truth at any time after that, but you still wanted your answers to your stupid mysteries. Everything these past weeks has been nothing but a joke to you. You used me. And for once, I'm tired of playing games." Bill jerked the jar off his body, snapping the string in the process. He looked into it with pure, unyielding hatred. "I shouldn't have expected anything less from a human. Those other demons are right, humans and demons aren't meant to mix. We're just too different, and I was stupid to ever think otherwise." Dipper was struck speechless, gaping at the other with disbelief. His veins were like ice, mind _screaming_ pleas for Bill to stop, to forgive him and go back to the way things were. Tears fell like waterfalls from his eyes and he stumbled back with an _oof_ as Bill chucked the jar at him, hitting him right in the gut. Dipper reflexively caught it and held it where it struck, never looking away from the demon. "Take your stupid soul back; refund's on me."

"Please, Bill, don't go! I don't want to say goodbye, I... I love y-"

"And don't ever summon me again," Bill snapped, smashing the alter with a bolt of his lightening and singeing his entry in the journal with the flick of his hand. Dipper fell back, startled by it, and quivered in his place.

Bill gave Dipper one last solemn glare, arms crossed and light dimmed.

"I really thought you were different, Pine Tree, I really did."

A short moment of grief and he was gone. This was it. The end.

For at least five minutes, Dipper didn't move. He was frozen solid with an almost lethal amount of shock. Chills ran up and down his spine, spreading numbness over his whole body while twinges of pain flickered every time his heart beat. When he did finally move, he hunched over, arms wrapped tight around his stomach, and wept with the same open-mouthed face of terror he'd had while it was happening. Staring down at the jar containing his soul in front of him, he watched as the center of the wisp darkened from a brilliant white to a smokey grey.

What had he done?

After another good five minutes when his eyes began to dry simply because he'd run out of tears to shed, he reached forward and took the container in hand, undoing the cap and allowing the spirit to flow back into the body. It was a warm, sweet feeling like a summer breeze. Slowly, the world began to fill with colour again and there could have been nothing more bleak.

Despite his best efforts, Dipper Pines was suffering unforeseen consequences.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ Aaaand scene! Girlf said I should scrap the last line but fuckit bc I personally like title drops! Watch out for the sequel to this fic coming soon! (Soon as in, I already have the prologue written and am halfway done with chapter 1. But I'm gonna let this fic marinate for a while). This fic is complete; please please _please_ let me know detailed thoughts on it as it is my first write-as-I-go fanfic that I've ever fully completed, aaand because I really appreciate comments hehe. Constructive criticism is welcome. Thanks for reading!


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